A Twist in the Cycle
by Karasu Tenka
Summary: For eons uncounted, the Cycle has continued. The Great King of Evil would rise, the world would be plunged into Darkness, and the Hero of Time would appear to vanquish his nemesis and return peace to the world. So it has always been. But this time, something is very, very different.
1. Prologue

For uncountable eons the cycle had repeated itself. Darkness would engulf the land as the King of Evil's ambitions grew, hope would seem to be lost, and then the Hero would emerge. Called upon by destiny, the Hero of Time would rise to the challenge and vanquish the darkness. The Evil would be defeated, and peace and balance would return to the world. That was the cycle. The endless loop. One of the only constants in the universe. The clash between the King of Evil, and his nemesis, the Hero of Time, all centered around the Triforce.

i _So why?_ /i Thought the man, sitting deep in thought upon his throne, i _Why has my enemy not appeared?_ /i His brow furrowed, turning to look out the massive arched window as he considered the thought.

The clatter of armor announced the arival of one of his guards. "I thought I said that I did not wish to be disturbed." He said, not bothering to look at the man now kneeling before him.

"My apologies, my king." The soldier said, his gaze cast downward, "However, a group of troops just returned from patrol. They claim to have prisoners who may have knowledge of Her whereabouts."

The man on the throne was up and moving towards the door before anyone in the large room could blink. "Show me." He ordered, making his way past the soldier.

The other man nodded, rising smoothly and walking just behind his lord, relaying the details of the prisoners as they moved through the palace. The king mostly tuned him out, paying only enough attention to know that the prisoners were all peasants who had tried to flee from his lands and failed. His teeth ground together at the thought, those who disagreed with his rule to such an extent disgusted him. He had sacrificed so much for them. Given the entirety of his adult life, almost twenty years now since he first took up his sword, all for them. And they had repayed him with contempt, with fear and hatred for all that he had done.

As the two men reached the courtyard, his thoughts turned to the people huddled together on the dirt below him. They were a pathetic lot, weak, malnourished, afraid. Taking a moment to consider them, he finally spoke at length, his powerful voice echoing through the courtyard. "I have been informed that you all are runaways, I don't think I need to tell anyone what that means. However, I have also been informed that some among you may have information. Information that I have been searching for for a great deal of time." He paused, gazing down at them, "So, allow me to make this simple. Tell me the location of the woman I have been seeking, and I shall see to it that you are all released back onto the Kingsroad. If not, then the full force of the law shall be brought down upon you all."

There was silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then finally a man rose from the huddled mass of peasants. From the way that the others looked at him, it was instantly clear that he was their leader, he stood as tall and straight as he could given the heavy chains secured to his arms and feet. The king watched him intently, awaiting the group's answer. Then the prisoner spat.

The glob didn't reach it's intended target, but it's meaning was clear enough. "There's your answer oh mighty i _'King'_ /i." He said, the contempt dripping from his words like venom. "If you think that we'd give up anyone to you, for any reason, then you are even stupider than your reputation suggested."

There was a stunned silence for several moments, then the King simply sighed. Turning to make his way back inside, he paused next to the guard, "Captain, save that one for last. And make sure that he watches every. Single. One."

The captain saluted, then stepped forward, "By order of the great King, you all are found guilty of treason, harboring known fugitives, attacking duly appointed agents of the King, and attempting to contact enemies of the King with malicious intent." Several shouts of protest rose from the group of peasants, all except the leader, who continued to stare after the King. "As such, your guilt, and your lack of respect for his majesty, leaves us with no choice but to levy against you all the full force of the law. You are all hereby sentenced to execution."

At the captain's gesture, several soldiers made their way forward, forcing the prisoners up and out of the courtyard. As they moved, he called out, "Separate that one from the rest." The leader of the prisoners was grabbed roughly by both arms and pulled to the side, more shouts of protest echoed through the courtyard as the group was lead away. The captain approached the final prisoner. "His majesty offered you a most generous chance to live. I am curious why you did not seize it?"

The prisoner fixed him with a murderous glare. "If that is what you consider generous, then this nation is truly lost. That was a mockery. Yes, he would have released us, but then he would have released his hounds and more of his lap-dog soldiers to hunt us down for sport."

The guard sighed, before reaching up and bashing the man's face with the back of his gauntlet. "Well, due to your rather... brazen disrespect of his Majesty, I have been ordered to ensure that you witness the deaths of your companions. All of them." The prisoner's eyes widened, "Perhaps by the end of it, you will wish that you had just taken the King's offer. After all, at least then your people could have died on their feet." The captain leaned in, until he was only inches from the prisoner's face. "And as you watch, I want you to know at the core of your being, that their deaths are your fault."

The prisoner's eyes flared in rage as he was dragged away, "I swear, one day someone will rise. Someone will come and kill your fucking King! And on that day, I will drag my soul back from the depths of whatever hell you have sent me too, and I will laugh! You hear me?!" His fury echoed across the castle, even reaching the ears of the King once more on his throne. A shiver of anticipation crawled down the King's spine, "MY SOUL WILL LAUGH THE DAY THAT KING LINK DIES!"


	2. Chapter 1

King Link sat, deep in thought. For twenty years, he had fought to unite the Hylean people, all of Hyrule under his banner. Other warlords, bandit kings, pirates, all had fallen beneath his blade, and later his boot. And for the last five years, the land had been at relative peace. He had pacified all other opposition, and risen to the height of power, united the land. All for one purpose.

It was all to continue the cycle. He was the Hero of Time. Born to destroy the King of Evil, and protect the Triforce in the Sacred Realm. However, this time was different. This time, the King of Evil had not appeared by the time Link had come of age, the darkness had not gained a foothold in the world. And so Link had decided to prepare for the inevitable. He gathered allies, and trained, and fought, until eventually he hit upon an idea; prepare the world for the coming of the King of Evil, and ensure that the world would be able to fight against the darkness. So he had fought, and conquered. All to protect the world. And yet, the people hated him... called him a tyrant. Couldn't they see that all he did was for their sake?

As he sat in thought, a scream of pain echoed up from the execution grounds. i _It doesn't matter._ /i he thought, i _These fools don't see... they fight against me. They betray their King. And so, they must be held accountable in the eyes of the law_./i

Perhaps that was the incarnation of the King of Evil this time... Perhaps it was the will of the people that had been claimed by darkness. Perhaps...

The captain of the King's guard entered the throne room quietly, moving to his lord's side. "It is done, your grace." He said, bowing formally. "The disrespectful fool begged for his death before I was even halfway done with his followers."

The King smiled, a warm feeling creeping through him. "You denied him, of course?"

"As you commanded. My King."

"Good. Then another traitor has seen the error of their ways." He paused, thinking for a moment. "These runaways are becoming more and more common... Why captain? Why can't these people see that all I do, I do to keep them safe from the true Darkness?"

A look of disgust crossed the captain's face, "It's because they are blind my King. You are the Hero of Time, who but you could keep the blind, stupid masses safe from the forces of evil that would see them all destroyed. If they cannot see that, if they cannot accept that, then they do not deserve your gracious protection."

Link began to smile, however the door slammed open, and a soldier rushed in. The armored man rushed forward, coming to a stop knelt before his King. "My lord, forgive the sudden intrusion, but the news I bear is most urgent."

Link felt something stir in the pit of his stomach, a sense that he had not felt in almost a decade; Fear. "What is it? What's happened?"

"The Gerudo have had a son."

The silence within the room weighed heavily, the color drained from Link's face. The Gerudo were a tribe of women who lived in the western deserts, thieves and assassins without peer, they had been a thorn in Hyrule's side for centuries. Most commonly they stole men from the outlying villages whenever they felt the need to have children, but the offspring were always women. Once every hundred years however, a male was born to the tribe. And this boy was always destined for power and greatness.

Link cast his memory backwards, across the eons. Through the endless retellings of the cycle, through his countless reincarnations, dozens of times, the Gerudo son had become the vessel of the King of Evil. Swiftly making up his mind, the King of Hyrule looked to his captain, "It's him." He said, "Find him. I don't care how well those women hide out there. Find that boy and kill him before he can grow into the King of Evil."

The captain nodded, turning and gesturing to the other soldiers in the room. "You all, fall out! Gather the regiments, we have a would-be king to hunt."

The room swiftly emptied. Link suddenly felt the strength leave his body. "So at last we come to it..." He said to himself, slumping backwards into his throne. "Tell me Ganon... Will you already wield your dark power? Or have my preparations been enough to cut you down before you can drag this world down into the abyss of darkness once more?"

Unknown to the Hylean King, a figure crouched in the shadows in the rafters of the throne room. Golden brown eyes watched the man in horror. Backing carefully to the wall, the woman crept up out to the roof. Once she was sure no one would hear her, she let out a choking gasp of a sound. "Oh gods Link... what have you become?" Taking a moment to crouch, the woman leaped off the roof, murmuring a small incantation, and vanishing in a small puff of smoke moments before hitting the ground.

She reappeared on the roof of a nearby building, and began running. Moving swiftly, she began making her way west, her goal, to stop a massacre.

The desert night was warm and clear, yet another blessing to be counted and thanked. The Gerudo danced and sang in celebration, as they had for the last week and a half. For the King had been born! The boy who would grow to be the greatest of their number.

The massive bonfires crackled into the night, brazenly signaling any who dared to venture the sandy wastes, the Gerudo were here! And their King would grow, strong and wise, leading them to a brighter future.

Into this scene, walked a woman, bone-tired, and weary from a solid week of hard travel. Several Gerudo instantly rose to challenge the stranger, for outsiders were not welcome among the warrior women often. A shouted command from the central fire calmed them however, and the newcomer made a sign of peace before making her way through the camp to the fire.

A Gerudo woman sat there, tall and beautiful and proud, the small form of her son cradled in her arms. As the newcomer approached, the mother gestured for her to sit. "Well, your appearance is rarely the mark of good tidings, Shialla. This had better be important for you to be interrupting the festival of my son's birth."

Shialla nodded, taking a moment to view the infant. He was already large for a baby, a good sign that he would grow to be a giant of a man. His features, so soft and frail with youth, were marked by the angles so indicative of the Gerudo people. And there, on the back of his right hand, was the mark Shialla had dreaded to see; a small patch of skin, slightly darker than the rest, tiny on the child's hand, in the shape of a triangle.

She sighed in sadness, "I wish that I could say that I was only here to congratulate you on the birth of your son Nazhia, however fate is rarely so kind to us. I am here to warn you. Word of your son has reached King Link, he seems to think that the boy is a threat to him and has ordered his soldiers to hunt him down. He seeks your son's death!"

Nazhia's gaze flew to the small form in her arms, rage burning in her eyes. "So... it is not enough for that bastard to have all of Hyrule by the throat, now he seeks to add the murder of children to his crimes?!" Her snarl caused all nearby to quiet instantly. "I had no idea that King Link wished for death so much. Very well, if it's war he wants, it's war he'll get." She rose as she spoke, handing her son to another Gerudo, and began making her way towards her tent.

She never made it however, as an arrow suddenly flashed through the night, embedding itself deep into her back and causing her to screech in pain as she fell forward. The camp suddenly exploded into a flurry of absolute chaos, as a large group of lightly armored Hylean knights rushed into the rings of light made by the fires. Combat erupted instantly, for while the Gerudo had been caught unaware, they were still warriors of the highest caliber.

Over the carnage of battle, Shialla heard the voice of Link's captain. "Find the boy!" He shouted, "A thousand ruppies to whoever brings me the brat!" However his voice was quickly drowned out by the shrieks of fury and rage of the Gerudo, who fought like demons to protect the child.

Grabbing the nanny, who clung to the child in terror, and pulling her to the fallen form of Nazhia, Shialla quickly inspected the wound. The arrow was to close to the woman's heart to be removed safely, but as it stood now, she would live, at least for a few minutes more. "I'm so sorry my old friend, this is going to hurt. A lot." she said, suddenly grabbing the shaft and snapping it close enough to the head to leave only a hands-length.

The Gerudo violently howled in pain, feeling the arrow twitch in her flesh. Slowly, she made to push herself up, clearly intent on joining the fight somehow. "Nazhia, you mustn't." Shialla said, placing a restraining hand on her friend's shoulder. "You won't last long up and moving like this, and I don't have the skills to save your life as it stands."

"Let me worry about my own life for now Shialla." The Gerudo spat, while beckoning a pair of her fellows over to her. "I have a charge for you. And it is one that tears at my heart more viciously than this arrow ever could."

Shialla felt the color in her face drain. There was only one thing she could possibly be talking about. "Nazhia..."

"Don't you dare try to back out of this girl!" Nazhia's rage was palpable, "These monsters seek my son's life! And I refuse to grant it to them. Now you know what I ask of you Shialla, you know the burden I am placing on your shoulders. And I know that you will not fail. You are the only one who I could possibly trust with this."

After what seemed an eternity, Shialla finally nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry Nazhia. I wish I could have gotten here sooner." Turning to the nanny, she nodded once again, steeling herself, and took the child from the woman. "I swear, I will keep him safe."

Nazhia smiled once, then stepped painfully forward to kiss the child lightly on the forehead. "Grow strong, my beautiful Ganondorf Dragmire." Raising herself up to her full height, the Gerudo woman reached forward, placing a hand on Shialla's cheek, and then turned to one of her lieutenants. "It's time."

Without waiting to see what her old friend had planned, Shialla turned towards the open desert and bolted. A collection of whispered incantations granted the woman a swift burst of speed, while hiding her tracks from any who would seek to follow her. On and on she ran, until the glow of the camp fires was little more than a dot on the dunes, and then she continued running. Clutching the baby to her breast, the young woman cried as she ran, for by now, hours later, her friend was probably dead.

Finally, the sun began to rise, and her exhaustion finally began to catch up to her. Glancing about, she caught a glimpse of a rock formation in the distance and turned her enhanced stride towards it. While the child was no doubt naturally hardy due to his Gerudo blood, it would not do to have him out in the blasting desert heat.

Finally reaching the formation, she gave a prayer of thanks to the Goddesses as she found a small cavern, it's opening just big enough that she could get through it. Taking a moment to glance about and ensure that no creature made this place it's home, she finally slumped down against the wall, almost too tired to even fall asleep.

As she sat there, the small bundle in her arms stirred. Looking down, she found herself gazing into twin orbs of bronzed gold, and smiled as best she could. "Well hello there little King. I guess we're all either of us has for now." She said, her voice choking with sadness, "I'm your auntie Shialla. But you can call me Sheik."


	3. Chapter 2

The night was warm, it was always warm this time of year. The village lay on the eastern-most fringe of the desert, small enough that it didn't even warrant a true name most often. However, the locals called it 'Waterhome' as it held the only working well for miles.

As the moon slowly crept across the sky, a small shadowed figure darted through the village, moving swiftly up the wall of one building, and pausing to catch it's balance on the roof. After a moments the figure darted forward once more, dashing across the thatched roof, it's light weight allowing it to pass over the material without any trouble. The added effect of a simple weightlessness spell certainly helped as well. As the figure reached the far edge of the roof, it paused for the briefest of heartbeats, and then leaped as high and as far as it could.

The air whipped past his face as he soared through the night. Letting out a cry of exultation, young Ganondorf Dragmire landed dozens of meters out from the edge of the village in a roll, coming to a stop on his back.

"Still too slow little Dragmire." Ganondorf chuckled, sticking out his tongue, his chest heaving from the run.

"Well of course I'm slower than you Auntie Sheik. You've been doing this sort of thing since before I was born."

Sheik approached from slightly further into the desert, most of her face hidden by the mask she always wore, gazing down at the boy. He had grown extraordinarily well in the last six years, his form already showing the promise of height that she had seen in him as a baby. His body had grown powerful due to the unfortunate harshness that the two of them had endured over the years. "You need to remember Ganondorf, these exercises are more than just for fun. They are important, they-"

"I know. I know. They may in fact save my life some day. You worry too much auntie. After all, who's going to try and kill a couple of harmless wanderers like us?" The boy smiled, rolling back and then flipping himself upwards and forward. As he landed, he shook the sand from his deep red hair.

His guardian's eyes seemed to shatter in sadness for a moment. Her mind flew back to that tragic night so many years ago. She saw Nazhia, proud and fierce, staring death down in place of her son, she saw the Gerudo fighting viciously to defend the life of the child. Finally she snapped back to reality, gazing down to the boy, "This world is full of people who wish you harm my boy. When you are older, I will tell you more about why we travel alone. But until then you need to trust me on this."

Ganondorf smiled once again. "I do trust you Sheik. You raised me on your own out here, you're the closest thing I've ever had to a mother." Noticing that she seemed to grow sad once again, he laughed, punching her lightly in the arm. "Now, what do you say we try again!"

Sheik's eyes raised in an obvious smile and both of them dropped into a ready crouch. "Ready?" She asked with a chuckle.

"GO!" The boy dashed back towards Waterhome.

Sheik laughed as she darted forward after the boy, however as she swiftly and stealthily overtook him, her mind turned to a darker line of thoughts. Ganondorf's skill and power were incredible, especially for a child. The more the boy grew however, the more his guardian worried if she was doing the right thing.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was _the_ Ganondorf reincarnated, that much had been obvious to her from the start. And that in itself was a problem, for the original Ganondorf, and every incarnation of him since were evil embodied. Yet, every incarnation of the Hero of Time had been a noble man, a true hero in every sense of the word; humble, sacrificing, brave... And this cycle's Link... he was...

Her mind jumped back to when she had first realized his madness, almost fifteen years ago now...

 _The rain lashed down, thunder and lightning roaring across the sky. The woman she had been stared horrified at the sight before her, the burned and charred buildings lay lifeless all around her, bodies burnt to such a degree that they couldn't even be recognized as human. Turning to her escort, she asked, "You are telling me that Link did this...? Of his own free will?" The man nodded silently. "WHY?! What possible justification could he have for this... this... butchery?!"_

 _"These people were enemies of the state." A voice sounded from behind her. Turning she saw Link walking forward, clad in his golden colored armor, accents of green seemingly glowing in the darkness of the storm. "They refused to even negotiate, instead sending my messenger's heads back in a bag."_

 _"So you murdered them all?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Why didn't you send me in?! You know for a fact that I could have talked them down."_

 _Link stepped forward, brushing a hand gently across her cheek, "I couldn't risk losing you. You are too important to the world to be lost fighting a bunch of worthless traitors." Her eyes widened in horror once again, where once his touch had awakened feelings of joy and security within her, now her skin began to crawl and she had to resist the urge to vomit._

 _She quickly backed away from him, turning to climb atop her horse. "I can't believe I'm hearing these words from you." She whispered, "I need to be alone. I'll return to the host on my own." Without another word, she turned her horse and spurred it into a gallop._

 _Link watched her go, his mind working over the look he had seen on her face. "Follow her." He said to a scout behind him, "Make sure she makes it back to the host." Something about her eyes caused murmurs of doubt to creep into his heart. "Make sure she's still loyal."_

 _The scout nodded, riding off at a canter. Link turned back to his gathered soldiers, "You all fought well today. So enjoy a drink and a victory feast upon out return to the camp!" Cheers erupted all around him as the men all began filing towards their basecamp._

 _On she rode, into the night, hoping that the storm would swallow her whole and drown away her fears. She had seen the signs for years, but she had refused to believe that Link could possibly be anything but the noble hero she had known. Now... she wasn't sure, the evidence spoke for itself._

 _A slight twinge caused her to glance over her shoulder, catching glimpse of a figure riding after her through the rain. She pulled her mount to a stop, waiting for whoever it was to reveal themselves. At last the form solidified into the figure of a scout, bearing Link's personal crest on his tunic._

 _"I have been instructed to ensure you reach your destination safely my lady." He said in a clipped tone. "Please, follow me, I will lead you back to the host." He made to turn his horse, however stopped when he saw the woman make no move. "My lady?"_

 _"I... I'm not going back." She said, making up her mind. "Not if I am going to be forced to be party to such slaughter again." As she spoke, lightning tore the sky asunder, as if to emphasize her words._

 _The scout seemed stunned by her declaration. "So, you are betraying his Majesty?" He asked,in a slow, threatening tone._

 _"No. I said I am leaving."_

 _"That is the same as a betrayal."_

 _"If that is how he will see this, than so be it."_

 _The man's shoulders seemed to slump, disappointment showing on his face. "Then I have no choice but to bring you back to him by force."_

 _"You always have a choice." She said with a silent plea "You do not need to be a part of this madness."_

 _"Enough. You have surrendered your right to say anything to me." With that, he kicked his horse into a gallop, driving it straight towards her. She tried to turn her mount out of the way, but the scout's had been bred for high speed, and crossed the distance in seconds, slamming into the larger beast with shocking force._

 _The scout lunged forward as the mounts collided, throwing himself at her and pulling her down with him. As they landed, she quickly rolled, throwing him backwards before coming up to a crouch facing him. "Please... stop this." She pleaded._

 _The scout snarled in fury, lunging once again. This time he knocked her over, forcing her back into the mud, his hands closing around her throat. "You think you can betray Him and then just do whatever you want!?" He roared down at her, "Nobody betrays King Link! Not even you."_

 _She gasped for air, her vision beginning to go dark, both from the mud and the lack of oxygen. As she struggled, her hand clasped around a large object lying to her right. Grabbing it without thought, she quickly brought the large rock up to smash into the side of his head, knocking him away from her. She quickly forced herself up, heaving in a breath and looking down at the stunned soldier._

 _Pulling herself up onto her knees, she grabbed the rock that had saved her, lifting it over her head._

 _The man's eyes widened in horror, "P-princess...wait..."_

 _"I'm sorry." She whispered, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "Please, forgive me."_

 _The rock hit with a sickening crack, and then it hit again. And again. And again._

 _She knelt there, tears streaking her face, mud caking her golden hair. She turned her gaze to the sky, and screamed._

Sheik's mind snapped back to the present. "I have to be right." She said to herself. "If Link has been driven insane in this cycle, then the balance _must_ right itself somehow."

"Auntie Sheik?" A young voice from behind her startled her out of her thoughts, "You've had a really strange look in your eyes for the last few minutes... And you didn't answer when I asked you what's wrong."

Sheik looked over her shoulder at the small cave that the two of them had found for shelter today. Ganondorf stood in front of the small cooking fire, a concerned look on his face. "I'm sorry little Dragmire, just getting lost in some bad memories." She tried her best to sound reasuring, but his expression only grew more worried.

"You've been like this ever since Waterhome." He said, "What's the matter?" His large golden eyes seemed to almost bore into her, searching for some hint.

Sheik adjusted her mask, pulling it up further around her nose, before turning back to gaze out over the desert. "It's nothing Ganondorf. Just trying to figure some things out. Things that involve my favorite nephew, and what the future has in store for you."

Ganondorf made his way over to her side and sat down, leaning against her. "Well then we'll figure it out together. Like we always do. After all, we're a team right?" He smiled up at her.

"Yeah..." She said, ruffling his hair gently, "We're a team..." Her thoughts once again darkened with thoughts of all the ways that this could go wrong when his memories began to awaken. But said nothing as the two simply sat, enjoying the sunrise over the scorching sands.


	4. Chapter 3

"Damnit! We had them! Where did they go?" The soldiers rushed through the streets of the border town, their captain's voice magically ringing to every corner of the settlement. "How hard can it be to find two criminals?! Find them. I will accept no failures."

Shiek and Ganondorf crouched low as a group passed their hiding place. "They must have _really_ wanted those chickens that we stole from them." The boy joked quietly, causing his guardian to stifle a laugh.

"Hush little Dagmire, you'll make me lose my concentration" She said, smiling behind her mask. How simple the situation was to the boy... How very different the reality actually was. She briefly wondered if she should have told him the truth. He was fourteen now, and far more mature and intelligent than even _she_ had been at that age, but no, he was still too young. To innocent. He didn't even comprehend what he was yet, though Shiek had her suspicions that he knew more than he let on. And she still hadn't had the strength to tell him about the attack on his people that had left him in her care.

They crouched, hidden from the mundane search methods of their pursuers by Shiek's magic, waiting for either the night to fall, or the soldiers to give up their search. Then suddenly, both of them winced simultaneously as a sensation flared across their hands. Shiek felt a horror take hold deep in her gut as she glanced down to Ganondorf's right hand, there was a dull red glow emitting from behind his glove, and she knew that if any of her own hand could be seen, a similar glow would be seen as well. "Shit. What the hell is _he_ doing here of all places." She quietly cursed to herself.

Ganondorf on the other hand was more curious than anything, "What is this Auntie Shiek? What's happening?"

"Trouble." She answered, an edge to her voice that the young boy had never heard before. "Listen to me very carefully Ganondorf, I need you to concentrate. Focus on the sensation in your hand and will the light to dim. If you don't, then we'll be in more trouble than even I could get us out of."

He blinked in surprise, but quickly did as the woman had asked. Turning his focus and attention inward to the strange feeling, he quickly felt it come under his control. Calming his heartbeat, he felt the light begin to dim, until it was all but extinguished.

Shiek let out the breath she had been holding, feeling the reaction from her own hand dim as well."Good, now devote a part of your mind to keeping that sensation under control. Just as I taught you when maintaining a spell." She briefly allowed herself a moment to relax, He wouldn't be able to pinpoint them now, and that would hopefully give them enough time to slip away undetected.

Link sat in the saddle of his horse, his narrowed eyes scanning the village. "He's definitely here." He said, holding his left hand up for all to see. Many of the soldiers whispered back and forth to each other in awe, as the mark of the Triforce pulsed with golden light. "I will brook _no_ failure in this, the greatest enemy that our nation has ever known is hiding somewhere in this village. He must not be allowed to escape and continue to gather his evil powers." Glancing around the village, the king of Hyrule felt bile rise in his throat, "This whole village is tainted with the Dark One's corruption, I can see it, hanging over the buildings like a shroud. It must be cleansed. Burn it."

The soldiers quickly moved to obey their king's orders, all but one, who stood petrified in place, a look of pure horror on his face. Link slowly walked his steed over to the man. "Is there a problem, soldier?"

"You want us to burn this town, people and all, because _one_ person is here?" The man asked, his voice quiet, but carrying an unmistakably rebelious edge to it.

"No." Link answered, "It is no longer a town of 'people' as you or I know them. They have been infected by the Dark One's preasence. Evil twists in their very souls like a snake, just below the surface. You cannot see it, for you do not possess the powers of the Triforce as I do, and as such, I forgive you of your ignorance. But I _do_ expect you to obey my order."

"I can't do that!" The man's eyes widened in horror, "This is my home town my lord. I can assure you tha-"

He never had the chance to finish his argument, as the glittering blade of Link's sword flashed through the air. The force of the strike caused the soldier to spin in place, his hands flying up to clutch weakly at his throat as blood sprayed across the ground. The poor man was dead within the few moments it took him to fall first to his knees, and then forward, landing face first in the dirt, blood still flowing forth from the massive wound.

Link flicked the sword with contemptuous ease, causing the few drops of blood that had clung to the blade to splatter across the ground. "I'm sure that no one else has such tainted ties yes?" He called, his voice ringing clearly across the gathered soldiers. "There is no telling how long the Evil One has been here, anyone who has called this village home is to be considered tainted beyond redemption."

Every one of the soldiers present snapped to salute, their closed fist thumping against their chest, just above the heart. "Good." Link continued, "Now, cleanse this place of the darkness. Let the light of justice and truth burn it all away, leaving nowhere for the Evil One to hide!"

"Shiek?" Ganondorf suddenly asked as they crouched in their hiding spot, "What's that smell?"

Shiek took a moment to sniff the air, then her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no... no, no, no. Damnit! I should have known he'd so something like this." As she spoke, flames began leaping from the roof of the building across the way from them, "Shit. Ok, we need to leave, now."

Ganondorf froze at the sight of the fire, a look of shock on his face. "Wait, they set fire to the town? Why?"

"I'll explain everything once we're safe. But for the moment, just trust me. We're a team, yeah?"

It was clear to the boy that she was scared, but he couldn't tell why. However, something inside him told him to listen to her. "Right, we're a team." He nodded, rising into a sprinters crouch, ready to break into a run the moment Shiek gave the signal. "Ready." He said, once again calming his heart rate with pure force of will.

Shiek glanced up and down the road, ensuring that nobody was nearby, "Run for the open dessert. Even if we get seperated, we can find each other at the old cave where we used to hide out." At the boy's nod, she readied herself, "Go!" Dispelling the illusion that had hidden them, the two broke into a fast sprint, swiftly moving west.

As he ran, a part of Ganondorf watched the insanity unfolding throughout the village. People were fleeing their homes in terror, but it seemed that the soldiers were now aiming to kill them all, he watched as an older couple were mercilessly cut down as they fled from a burning building.

"There's nothing we can do for them." He heard Shiek say from just ahead of him. "The best that can be done is to get out of here alive."

Nodding silently in newly found determination, he put on an extra burst of speed, pulling ahead of Shiek. He could see the open dessert a few hundred meters ahead of him, if he could just make it there...

As his thoughts and body raced, a sudden instinct told him to throw himself forward. Listening to it, he dove into a roll, feeling the displacement of air as something lashed out at where his head had been an instant before. Coming up in a fighters crouch, he turned to get a look at who had attacked him, and froze.

Link couldn't believe his eyes. Ganon, his most hated enemy, had just darted out in front of his horse! The two locked eyes, the seconds seeming to stretch into eternity, and then finally Link broke into an insane smile. "So, the Goddesses truly do smile upon me today! Not only did they lead me to the lair of my foe, they then deliver him right into my waiting hands. It's been far too long Ganon, you look a little thinner than when we last met."

The boy seemed shocked at his familiarity, "You know me?"

Link burst out laughing. "You haven't yet remembered? Oh this is rich. How many times have our roles been reversed in a scenario such as this? And now I have the chance to end you before you can do any damage in this cycle, blessed by the Goddesses indeed."

Ganondorf suddenly felt a rage well up inside him; this man, whoever he was, was mocking him. Something inside the boy roared to lash out and tear the arrogant mounted man to pieces. He felt his hand raise, power gathering to be unleashed upon his foe, Link's smile widened as he raised his sword.

Then the world around them suddenly exploded in smoke so thick that they couldn't even see their hands, never mind each other. Link lashed out with his blade, hoping to kill the boy before he could slip away, however he found nothing. "Apologies, _your majesty_." A muffled voice sounded from the smoke, "But the boy's not yet ready to face you, so we'll be taking our leave now."

With that, a breeze swept through the street, blowing the smoke away, leaving Link, alone and furious. It was him... he had been right _there_! And he had escaped! His anger was such that none of his own soldiers dared to approach him. He raged for hours, until at last he collapsed, completely spent and exhausted. Finally, as the sun was setting, he called for the captain of the contingent of soldiers that accompanied him.

"Captain, let me make this abundantly clear." He began as the man entered the king's tent, "That boy who escaped us today is the single greatest threat to peace and order in Hyrule. I don't care what it takes, I don't care how it's done: find him and kill him."

"As you command my king." Secretly, the captain doubted that a single child could be worth all the effort, but he wasn't about to question his king at this point in his career. "The boy will die."

By the time Shiek finally set him down, Ganondorf was past the point of furious, but was also too tired to try to argue with her further. She had run for hours, putting dozens of kilometers between them and the mad King. And Ganondorf had raged and lashed against her arms for at least half of it.

He wasn't sure why, all he knew was that the man on the horse needed to die. And he needed to be the one to kill him. That single thought had consumed him as he had been carried away, an unstoppable hatred had welled up within him and had screamed for the stranger's blood. And Shiek had denied him that need.

Finally, as the sun was beginning to set, she at last slowed to a halt in a small hollow surrounded by rocks that would block out the winds that night, and set the boy back down. As soon as he was out of her arms, the woman collapsed, exhausted beyond words. Gingerly, she pulled away some of the wrappings around her arms, revealing enormous masses of dark bruises where Ganondorf had hit her trying to escape from her grasp. She sighed tiredly, and set about slowly pulling out herbs from her various belt pouches to mix into a healing poultice.

As she worked, slowly due to the pain, a pair of strong young hands pulled the ingredients away from her as Ganondorf sat down and took over, a look of shame in his eyes. "Just tell me what that was." He said, his voice uncharacteristically serious and mature, his eyes locked on the small mortar and pestle set that they used. "I've never felt so much hatred for anything. So why did I suddenly start acting that way?"

Shiek crossed her legs and gazed across the space at the boy. Again it struck her just how young he truly was, only fourteen years old, and already fate had asked him to take up the mantle of his destiny. Finally, she sighed again and spoke: "I've told you before that you are not like other children your age." Ganondorf simply nodded, "I had been wanting to wait until you were older to explain to you why that is... but it seems that this world just loves to ruin my plans. Alright... where to begin..." She paused for a few moments, collecting her thoughts. "That man on the horse, was King Link Chronalian Hyrule, he is the ruler of the lands to the east of this desert. He'd probably claim to rule the desert as well, but nobody else would ever agree with him. He is the reincarnation of the great Hero of Time, or the Hero of Legend as he is sometimes called. For as long as people have lived in this world, the Hero has been a force for good, he has worked tirelessly through the eons to ensure that the people of this world can live to see another day."

Ganondorf let out a derisive snort, "Oh yes, burning a defenseless village to the ground and butchering it's inhabitants is _such_ a heroic thing to do." He then reached forward, taking Shiek's arm in his hand and gently began applying the poultice.

"I wasn't finished," Shiek said, groaning as the cool medicine pressed against her sore skin. "The man I just described, that is what Link usually is. That is who he has been since practically the beginning of time. He's been reborn thousands of times over the ages, and every time he has been the epitome of the term Heroic. But this time... I don't know what happened. He has changed, Where once there was courage, now there is paranoia. In place of the nobility and selflessness, there is a cruelty and depravity."

Ganondorf examined his handiwork, before nodding in satisfaction and going to work on her other arm. "Ok, so what the hell does any of this have to do with _me_?"

"This is where it get's complicated," Shiek continued, "Link isn't the only person who reincarnates. There are two others, the first is Zelda, normally her reincarnations have stayed within the Royal Bloodline of Hyrule, and she has led the nation through some of it's most difficult times. She reincarnated into this era, but she disappeared a long time ago, no one really knows where she is. It's the third reincarnation that concerns you however. Link's nemesis, and the greatest enemy that the nation of Hyrule has known; Ganon, the Great King of Evil. You." She finished, fixing her eyes on the boy, unsure of how he would react.

For several moments, the young boy said nothing. He simply finished applying the poultice to her arm, his face a very, very neutral mask. When he finished, he sat back, locking eyes with Shiek. "So you're saying that I am evil?" He asked simply, an edge to his voice that sounded like it belonged to someone _considerably_ older.

Shiek flinched slightly at the tone in his voice, but kept her gaze locked with his for several moments longer. At last she looked down at her arms, and spoke, "I am saying that historically you have been evil. However, everything is wrong in this cycle. The Hero of Time has become a tyrant that could possibly rival you at your worst, and the one woman who could have curbed his insanity vanished, some say after losing all faith in the man she had loved. So honestly? I don't _know_ if you are actually evil." He didn't look very convinced, so she continued, "I know two things for sure: first, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are the reincarnation of Ganon. And second: I know that I have done my absolute best these last fourteen years to raise you to be as good a person as you can be. Whether that sticks once your memories unlock themselves or not, I don't know. But I had to try."

Ganondorf thought quietly for a long time, then finally, he asked the question that would determine if he believed her. "How? How do you know that I'm this 'Evil King' guy?"

Shiek gestured to his right hand, indicating the mark that had been there since birth. "Because you bear the Triforce of Power."

Ganondorf looked down to the mark, remembering how it had flared to life earlier that day. "Ok, I'll bite. What's a 'Triforce'?"

Shiek smiled behind her mask, "I've told you the legend of this world's birth yes? The one about the three Golden Goddesses?" At his nod she continued, "At the end of that legend, when the Goddesses left this world, they each left behind a fragment of their power in the form of three golden triangle shaped artifacts. These three are collectively known as the Triforce. According to a different legend, many thousands of years ago, your incarnation of that cycle tried to steal the Triforce from it's resting place within the Sacred Realm, however, since your heart was filled with evil and a lust for power, the only piece you obtained was the Triforce of Power. The other two were sealed within The Hero of Time and the Princess Zelda, and all three have remained in their bearer ever since. Whenever the three grow near to each other, they can sense it unless one of them makes a constant effort to hide their presence, and even then it's not guaranteed to hide them."

The boy continued to look at the mark on his hand, the more he thought about what she said, the more it felt... right. As if pieces were falling into place that he hadn't even realized were missing. It was then that a thought occurred to him, "Tell me auntie Shiek, how is it that you know so much about all of this?" Shiek froze, she hadn't expected him to ask that, "From what you've said, the only people who would know all of this for sure are the three who keep getting reincarnated."

"I am one of the Shiekah." She said quickly, acting as if it was a simple fact. "There aren't many of us left, but we have been the guardians of Princess Zelda's bloodline for as long as it has existed. As such, the tale of the three has been passed down in my family as a tradition as ancient as out line."

Ganondorf frowned slightly, it was feint, but he got the most distinct feeling that Shiek had just lied to him. Or at the very least, not told him the whole truth. For several moments, he looked at her, wondering if he should question her about it. Finally though, he decided to let it go, Shiek had never once given him a reason to distrust her, and any secrets that she was keeping were probably kept that way for a good reason. "Ok, so I'm the reincarnation of a psychotic monster, and the psychotic monster in charge of Hyrule is the reincarnation of some big time Hero. And we both want to kill each other more than we want to breathe. Great... Now what?"

"First, we get some sleep." Said Shiek, securing her arm-wraps around the medicine to hold it in place for the night. "It'll be fully dark soon, and we've both had a long day. Tomorrow I'll start teaching you how to control some of the power that's going to start awakening in you now that your Triforce has awakened."

Ganondorf nodded, getting up and moving across the hollow to the edge of the rocks and curling up with his back against the solid stone. He sat there watching the sky above darken, and the stars appear, and he thought about what he had learned that night. The ancient King of Evil? Him? It didn't make much sense, but then neither did a Hero who randomly decided to be insane. Sleep came slowly, but it was not peaceful. His dreams were haunted by ghostly images of terrible battles, and of a darkness that seemed... alive, and it sought to consume him whole.

Shiek sat across the hollow, watching as the boy she had raised tossed and turned in his sleep. She knew that it was his memories attempting to surface, and with them... She rose to her feet and silently made her way over to the sleeping boy, gently she took him in her arms as she had when he was younger. The presence of the woman had an almost instant effect, the tension flowed out of his body as his dreams began to calm, and the Darkness seemed to recoil from her. "Sleep well, little Dagmire." She whispered softly, stroking a hand through his deep red hair. "You will need all of your strength starting tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 4

Captian Heidero couldn't believe how bad his luck had become. He had done nothing wrong, but it seemed that somebody hated him. There was no other reason that he could think of for his current posting.

The Western Desert Hunter Brigade. Better known to the soldiers as the 'Wild Goose Chase Brigade', or the 'Colossal waste of time and resources'. It had been formed almost seven years earlier, supposedly under direct orders from King Link himself, (Rumor had it that the King had also led the initial Brigade's first expedition.) But in the years that had followed it's creation, the Brigade had never once found the person that they were hunting for.

Usually such failure in King Link's army would have resulted in the destruction of the entire Brigade, and either the execution or the 're-education' of the soldiers therein. But for some reason that no one knew, the Desert Hunter Brigade had received a constant supply of fresh soldiers and funding for seven long years. And to make matters worse for the soldiers that were transferred into the Brigade, their new general seemed to care about nothing but finding the Brigade's by now, mythical target.

So it was that Captain Heidero now found himself hiking up over a cresting sand dune and scanning the horrizon. "And of course, there's nothing living for kilometers around..." He sighed to himself, signaling for his squad to follow him up. "Alright boys, we know that General Hard-ass is going to want some kind of report when we get back, so get out there and get me something. I really don't give a shit what it is. So long as we give him something."

The rest of Heidero's squad chuckled as they set off, by now they had worked this posting into a routine. And word was that the Brigade would be setting up camp at a trade town that night, so they were all in unusually high spirits. As they hiked down the dune to continue their futile search, Heidero's mind briefly considered the vague, and completely useless description that they had of the man they were hunting, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Hah, a 'young man, with angular features and bright red hair.' That could describe almost a million people back home in old Castle City alone." He started down the dune himself, "I can't believe how bad my luck is..."

* * *

That evening, the sun was just beginning to set as the Hunter Brigade arrived at the trading town. It wasn't much by 'civilized' terms, but it was still a bustling stop on several trade routes, as it was one of the only locations in the desert with enough of a water supply to support the constant traffic. The small city of tents that the soldiers erected was quickly noticed by the various locals, who quickly descended on the Hylians in an attempt to peddle some of their wares, both legal and otherwise.

For the men of the 'Goose Chase Brigade' it was stops like this that made the posting bearable. Some of them quickly drank themselves into oblivion, while others found their peace in the form of drugs and narcotics. While others still sought their solace in the arms of one of the many professional women who worked in the town.

Heidero sat at a mess table, a drink in his hand, watching as his men shuffled off to partake of their various vices. "This is just pathetic." He chuckled to himself, picking up a deck of cards and making his way towards one of the taverns in the town. "A man should not be reduced to what we are, scrabbling for the comfort of women and drugs and drinks just to make it through to the next month. A curse on whoever it is that we're supposed to be hunting out here."

He entered the tavern and was greeted with the sounds of cheerful drunks and fellow gamblers. Making his way to a table, he quickly dealt himself into a game, and within an hour had earned himself a nice pile of coin. By now all eyes were on his game, Heidero seemed unstoppable. Then the whole bar quieted.

"Impressive luck you have tonight soldier." A voice behind him spoke. Heidero froze. He hadn't even sensed the man's presence. "Perhaps you'll do me the honor of dealing me into the next few hands."

Heidero recovered his composure quickly enough, "Of course." He said with a smile, turning to glance at the man behind him. He was big. Very big. But the seasoned soldier could tell that the man was also very, very fast. He gulped a little, something about this newcomer put him on edge. "There's always room for more players."

The large man moved to a chair across the table from Heidero and sat, lounging back in it. Now that he could actually get a look at him, Heidero blinked in confusion. The man across from him was only just over two meters tall, large to be sure, but not nearly the giant he had thought him to be. Also oddly, the man wore a cloak, with the hood pulled up. It didn't cast enough of a shadow to hide his face, so it wouldn't effect their game at all, but Heidero still found it odd to wear such a thing inside, in the desert.

The man's young face split into a wide smile. "Wonderful." He said, "Let's have some fun then. Drink? My treat." He gestured for one of the server girls to bring over drinks for the table.

Heidero leaned back in his chair, observing his generous new opponent. "I'll warn you, I'm no worse at this game drunk then I am sober." He said with a knowing grin, "So buttering me up with drinks won't improve your chances."

"Maybe so," Said the hooded man, "But drink serves to make the night more enjoyable."

"Hah, I suppose you're right." Heidero grinned, he was starting to like this man. "Anyone else care to play?" He asked the observing tavern-goers, "Let's see if we can't make this pot actually worth something."

A few other's soon joined in, and the cards were dealt. It soon became obvious to Heidero that the hooded man across from him was no amature, he hid it well, but the skill was definitely there. As was a natural talent for bluffing.

An hour later, Heidero and the hooded man were once again the only two at the table. Both had amassed a rather sizable pile of winnings. "You seem to have your own batch of good luck tonight stranger." Heidero said, laughing, his stomach now warm with good drink.

"I prefer to make my own luck." Said the other man with a smile, betting a few coins for the hand.

"A good statement. It's good to see young people still have that kind of attitude." Heidero also bet a few coins, before dealing the next cards. As he picked up his cards, he smiled slyly, "But everyone's luck run's out eventually."

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" The hooded man grinned easily, lounging back in his chair and glancing at his cards. "Then I've a challenge of my own for you." He said, leaning back forward, his eyes suddenly holding a surprisingly serious glint to them. "All in."

The watching crowd all collectively gasped slightly. Both men had amassed several thousand rupees each. That was enough to fund any kind of lifestyle short of a court noble for a full year. Heidero just smiled though, the young man was good, there was no denying that. But he was bluffing. Heidero had noticed a small tell that the hooded man had whenever he bluffed. And he saw it now as well.

"You're sure you want to do this boy?" He said, easily pushing his own pile of money to the center of the table, causing their audience to gasp again. "You know, there's no shame in admitting that you are beaten."

The young man in the hood simply smiled. "Deal the final card old man. Nobody is beaten until the final blow falls."

Heidero smiled again. "I like you boy." He said as he dealt "You've got heart." He lifted his cards and revealed them. "But you lose this time." He had a very strong full house hand, and most of the audience began to applaud. Heidero grinned and reached to collect his winnings, but a strong hand clasped around his wrist, stopping him.

"I'm afraid you didn't hear me." The young man said, "It isn't over, I said, until the last blow falls." He then tossed his own hand down on the table.

The stunned silence that followed was almost deafening. Heidero stared at the hand as if it was some kind of poisonous snake. A royal Triforce flush stared back at him. A hand so rare and difficult to make, that it was considered a myth by most. "H-how?" He managed to stammer "How could you have put that together without me noticing?"

Again the hooded young man smiled lightly, "I guess the drink did distract you a bit after all. It was a pleasure playing against you sir." He casually scooped the multiple thousands of rupees into a small bag, and rose to leave.

"Wait."Said Heidero, also rising. "Something's been bugging me since you sat down." The hooded man's eyebrow rose curiously, "Why the hood indoors? What's there to hide?"

The man grinned easily again, pulling the hood further forward, casting a shadow across his face. "For exactly the reason you just asked. It adds an air of mystery to people's perceptions. And the ladies love the mysterious ones." He then burst into a full blown laugh that boomed across the room. "Or perhaps it's because this is my lucky cloak. Who knows?" With that, the stranger turned with a flick of the cloak and made his way towards the exit.

As the stranger made it to the door, a hand closed around his arm. "Or perhaps," Heidero said, all levity gone from his voice, "It's to hide your hair color from me." He reached up and pulled the hood back, revealing the shock of deep red hair beneath. "'A young man, with angular features, and bright red hair.' Hate to brake it to you kid, but you fit the bill for the man my unit's been hunting for perfectly. I'm afraid that I need to take you in for questioning."

The hooded man looked back at Heidero with a slightly sad look in his eye. "You must be joking." He said. When the soldier shook his head, the man sighed. "Well Captain, I'm sorry that you feel that way. I actually sort of like you, so I'd prefer not to have to do this." The man suddenly seemed to blur with motion, his leg snaked up and curled around the back of Heidero's neck, and hooked a foot under his arm, before jerking back around and down. The snap of motion, and the pure, corded strength in the hooded man's body pulled Heidero around and down. The soldier blinked in surprise, suddenly finding himself on the floor, with the other man's knee resting lightly against his throat. "Don't move, don't try to move my knee." The hooded man said. "If you do, I will remove your air supply."

Heidero couldn't believe he had been taken down so easily. He'd been a soldier for years, and nobody had ever gotten the drop on him like that, ever. "Don't do this kid," He tried to reason with the man, "You'll only make yourself look more guilty."

"Guilty of what?" Hissed the young man, "Of having red hair? Is that suddenly a crime in Hyrule?" He pressed lightly against the soldier's neck, "Now. I am going to leave. Don't try to follow me. Or I won't show mercy next time."

Heidero froze as the man spoke, his instincts suddenly screaming at him that the man currently pinning him to the floor was even more dangerous than he had given him credit for. The hooded man then swept up and out of the tavern, leaving a stunned silence behind him. Heidero allowed for a few seconds to pass then quickly rolled to his feet, and hurried outside, looking around frantically. Not seeing the other man, he rushed towards the Brigade's camp.

* * *

Ganondorf had to admit, he had grown careless. He'd known that the 'Goose Chase Brigade' had a vaguely general description of him, and yet he'd arrogantly waltzed right up to one of their captains, and then taken easily two years wage from him. Cursing himself for the arrogant fool that he was, he hurried through the trade town towards where he'd been staying. He just hadn't been able to resist the temptation. To see just how close he could get before someone recognized him. "Well now you know, you stupid idiot." He swore to himself, "He's probably going to go get at least one squad and tear this poor town apart trying to corner me..."

Ganondorf stopped and hung his head, sighing in frustration. "SHIT!" He swore angrily. He turned back towards the rest of the town, "Now I need to lead them away from here before they decide that I've 'tainted' this place too." He made his way to the town's center, and waited.

He didn't need to wait long. Within minutes, shouts and the clatter of armor and swords reached his ears. Not long after that, about thirty soldiers rushed up the road. Ganondorf let out an impressed whistle, "I'm surprised he managed to get so many away from their payed nightly company..." He then sighed, and kicked a small pebble as hard as he could.

The tiny stone flicked through the air like a crossbow bolt, clanging off of a soldier's helm like a bell. The collected hylian's all shouted, and broke into a charge, rushing at Ganondorf. "Let the games begin..." He sighed to himself, before turning and bolting down the road away from the town.

The chase didn't last very long. The soldiers simply couldn't keep up with their quarry's speed, and they soon lost sight of him. They did however quickly pick up his trail out of town, and an hour later, the entire (extremely unhappy) brigade marched out of the town, back on the trail. Their General bellowing orders as he led the charge to follow his prey's trail.

A few minutes after they'd passed the outskirts of the town, Ganondorf stepped out of his hiding place and waved 'goodbye' to the departing mass of silhouettes. He was fairly confident that his illusion spell would give them a trail to follow for at least a few kilometers. "Well... that was a pain in the ass." He said, turning back to the town, making his way home.

As he made his way through the otherwise abandoned streets, a feminine voice suddenly sounded behind him. "So, I suppose I have you to thank for cutting my date short?" Ganondorf whirled around, dropping into a fighter's stance, and blinked in surprise. Standing before him was a beautiful young woman, about his age if he had to guess, with long, deep red hair. She wore a rather revealing outfit of a wrap of cloth across her well endowed breasts and a pair of slack pants. She stood with an oddly confident air about her, as she considered his reaction to her. "What? Never seen a woman before?"

Ganondorf slowly lowered his fists, "Sorry." He said, "I'm just not used to people being able to sneak up on me." He took a moment to admire how beautiful she was, while at the same time, realizing that her form and build made her profession a pretty easy one to guess. "And I'm sorry your 'date' got cut short." He said with a grin, "Did you at least have time to relieve the poor soldier of anything valuable?"

The woman blinked in surprise. "How did you know?" She asked, pulling a gold chain from where she'd hidden it between her breasts.

"I'm in a similar line of work." He chuckled lightly. "I'm Dragmire." He extended his hand in greeting.

She considered him for a few moments, before shaking his hand. "Nobooru. Good to meet you Dragmire. So, you want to tell me how you managed to get an entire battalion of troops trying to chase you out of town?"

"Not particularly." He smiled at her pouting response, "Let's go with I may have cheated one of their captains out of a lot of money, and leave it at that. I'd rather not look into it any deeper honestly." He turned to leave, "It was nice to meet you Nobooru."

"Oooh no you don't." She hurried around in front of him, "I know that you're the guy that 'Goose Chase Brigade' has been after. And I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know why." She placed her fists on her hips, causing her large breasts to bounce just slightly, and stood her ground before the large man.

Ganondorf took a moment to chuckle to himself, shaking his head lightly. As he did, he casually palmed a gold rupee from his card winnings, murmured a small spell, and then held up the rupee.

The spell caused the small gem to glitter madly, pulling Nobooru's gaze to it and holding it there. He then flicked the rupee into the air. Nobooru's gaze followed the gem up, and back down as it landed in her hand, by then the fascination spell had run it's course, and she blinked, looking around, and finding herself alone in the street.

Pocketing the rupee, she smiled as she began to make her way home. "Dragmire, huh? Interesting guy." She chuckled lightly into the night.

* * *

Captain Heidero sighed, wiping his brow in the heat. It had been two days since the trade town, and he couldn't help but think that they had been played for fools. They had followed the hooded man's trail out of town for several kilometers, before it had vanished without any trace. Of course, the General refused to believe the possibility that the man may have found a way to double back, and so, the Brigade had received orders to once more, 'fan out and scour the desert.'

"That bastard's probably sitting back in that tavern, sipping a nice glass of ice water..." Heidero grumbled to himself, "This really is the worst posting ever... I can't believe how bad my luck is."


	6. Chapter 5

"Dammit! You guys just don't know when to give up do you?!" Ganondorf ducked and dodged as a sword cleaved through the space where his head had been moments before. He was honestly surprised and impressed. The 'Goose Chase Brigade' had finally figured out that he'd slipped past them and doubled back. They had showed up in the trade town once more, and quickly actually chased him out of town. The chase had now lasted almost a week, Ganondorf had managed to stay ahead of them, but he was starting to get tired. And now a group of scouts had actually caught up to him at the base of the eastern mountains before he could lose them in the rocky terrain.

So, he now found himself dodging and weaving through a squad of a dozen surprisingly well trained scouts as they vented their anger over the two and a half week chase he'd led them on, on top of the seven years of wasted time that some of them had endured. Ganondorf quietly thanked the Goddesses that Aunt Shiek had taught him a few spells to hold back exhaustion, because without them, he would have died at least three times now. "Come on guys," He entreated his attackers, "How about we just stop all this idiocy, and I buy you all a drink instead? Anyone? No? Ugh, fine."

Murmuring another spell, he reinforced the armor of his gauntlets, using them to block and turn away the soldier's sword blows. Then he cast a second spell to enhance his already impressive strength, and began to strike back. Dodging several slashes, he moved forward, catching a sword with one gauntlet, and quickly delivered a brutal punch into the owner's stomach, before throwing himself to the side, away from a final slash. Coming up in a crouch, he lunged forward, grabbing a soldier by the head, and pulled. The soldier flailed uselessly as Ganondorf hurled him into three of his fellows, bowling them all over.

Ganondorf then lashed out with a kick, knocking another soldier down and out of the fight. Taking the brief moment he had bought himself to catch his breath, he looked down the hill, seeing the rest of the Brigade hurrying towards the fight. Snarling in frustration, he turned and leapt up the steep rock face of the mountainside, using his magically enhanced strength to gain extra distance from the jump.

However, the scouts were experts in this sort of terrain, and were quickly following him up the mountain. An hour later, they once again had him surrounded on a small plateau far up the mountain's face. Ganondorf breathed heavily, his strength sapped from dozens of small cuts that his opponents had managed to land, his legs shook from exhaustion as the magic that sustained him began to wear off as well.

"I don't suppose I can convince you guys to let me have a break eh?" He joked weakly as the last of his strength finally left him and he collapsed, his vision going black.

The scouts all began to close in on him, blades drawn, and murder in their eyes. However, before they could move more than a few steps, a flicker of red detached itself from the nearby rocks. A blurred figure darted through the line of scouts, grabbed their prey, and lunged past them, rushing for a small path along the mountainside. "Sorry fellas, but I have business with this big lug." A feminine voice called out, "I'll just leave you this as a 'thank you'."

A small black bomb rolled down the path back towards the scouts, it's fuse burning quickly. The scouts took one look at the bomb, and lunged away from it, leaping down the hill as the blast went off. The explosion ripped a solid chunk from the steep mountainside, destroying the path, and knocking dozens of large boulders loose to tumble down the hill after the scouts and into the unfortunate soldiers who were still climbing.

* * *

Ganondorf groaned in pain as he rolled to his side, awakening to a body that hurt all over. "Son of a bitch..." He swore as he quickly realized just how sore he really was. He then also realized that he was no longer outside, and that there was a small fire crackling next to him. "Great... now what?"

"Well good morning to you too." Nobooru grinned at him from across the fire, a small animal roasting on a spit in front of her. "And you're welcome for saving your life."

Ganondorf slowly looked around, taking stock of the situation. He was in a small cave, the entrance covered by some kind of screen. He was laid on a small bed of surprisingly soft straw and fur, with bandages covering his chest and arms. "So... I really did collapse in the middle of a fight..." He chuckled weakly, covering his face with one of his hands, "Auntie Shiek would never let me hear the end of it..."

Nobooru blinked down at him, absently pulling the cooked meat from the fire and biting a piece from it. "Who's 'Auntie Shiek'?" She asked curiously.

"She's the one who raised me." He said, groaning as he forced himself to sit up and face the woman who had saved him. "We aren't really related, but we've almost always been together. Until a few years ago when she decided to see if I could survive on my own." He chuckled again, groaning in pain as he did, "Guess my current state answers that..." He glanced up at the young woman, "Thank you for saving me." He flashed her a small, handsome smile.

Nobooru paused, her cheeks suddenly matching her hair color. "Oh... uh..." She coughed a little bit, "Yeah. No problem." She tossed him the spit of cooked meat, and busied herself setting up a second one.

"Of course that begs the question," Ganondorf frowned suspiciously, "What were you doing out here in the first place? Also, how did a pickpocket and thief like you manage to get me away from a dozen well trained Hylian soldiers?"

"Hey! First off, for your information, my family lives up in these mountains." Her eyes flashed dangerously, "And second, I'm not just a thief. I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves."

"What sleeves?" He joked lightly. When her eyes flashed again, he held up his hands in surrender. "It was a joke. I'm sorry. I'm sure you are very talented. You must be, for me to be here instead of bled out on that mountainside. So, I'll believe you."

"Good." She said with a smirk, "Otherwise I'd kick your ass out onto the path, and let those soldiers find you." She casually turned the spit over the fire, "Most of the time, men aren't allowed in these mountains," She explained, "My family chases any men away if they come too close. The only times any men are allowed up here is if we decide to find a boyfriend, or if that man has proven himself to one of my family." She paused, considering him for a moment, "No offense, but at the moment, you aren't exactly boyfriend material. But anyone who can piss off an entire Hylian brigade, and survive for as long as you did, that person is defiantly worth letting in."

Ganondorf smiled, "Uh, thanks? I guess?" As he spoke, he delved into his memories that had been awakening over the last seven years. There were thousands of years worth, but he had learned quickly how to sift through them efficiently, and he soon found the memories he had been looking for. "You're Gerudo." He said with a sudden knowing smile.

"Yeah." Nobooru answered, an impressed expression on her face, "Although I'm actually surprised you know the name. Nobody's called us that in almost as long as I've been alive."

"Apparently my Aunt Shiek used to be friends with a Gerudo woman. So she told me a bit about their culture." It was certainly true, Shiek had indeed taught him a bit about the Gerudo, but most of his knowledge, (which he suspected, was probably even more than Nobouru knew,) came from his memories. "Not much though, every time she talks about the Gerudo, she always get's this really depressed look in her eye, and changes the subject as quickly as she can."

Nobooru nodded, "Yeah, my mom's a similar way. Apparently King Link's soldier's tried to wipe us out about twenty one years ago. They attacked us during a festival of some kind, and nearly killed us all. I don't actually know the full story, none of the women who were there that night talk about it. And I was born a few months later, so mom say's I was blessed." She forced herself to smile brightly, "But on the bright side, most people these days think that the Gerudo are all dead, so they never suspect any of us until it's too late."

Ganondorf laughed, "Hahahah, ow son of a bitch. Don't make me laugh again please. I'm in enough pain as it is." He took a bite of the cooked meat that Nobouru had given him. "Well that certainly explains how you were able to save me. Especially if the Gerudo are still even half as fierce warriors as my aunt described them as."

"You bet your ass we are." She said with a grin, "We're the best there is. And some day, King Link is going to learn that first hand."

"I think I'd like to meet the Gerudos. If I could that is." Ganondorf grinned, "As you've already seen, I'm not exactly the most popular man in Hyrule, and I think I could learn a lot from your people."

Nobooru pondered for a few moments, pulling her, now cooked, meat from the fire and biting into it as she did. "I don't see why not. You've already got my permission for that chase you led the 'Wild Goose Chase Brigade' on. And I bet that my sisters will be fine with you once I explain it to them." She tore another chunk of meat from the spit and munched on if for a few moments, "Get some rest," She then said. "You've had a long couple of days, and you've earned it."

Ganondorf smiled gratefully, before collapsing back down. He was asleep before his head hit the bedding.

* * *

Two days later, Ganondorf was back on his feet, thanks to some Gerudo medicinal remedies and some old Shiekah healing meditations. He stepped from the cave he and Nobouru had been hiding in, and blinked in the sunlight to adjust his sight. Then, looking around, found himself only a few hundred yards from where he and the scouts had battled. "That cover screen for the cave entrance must be really good if the 'Goose Chase' didn't find us at all." He said, a hint of duly impressed wonder in his voice.

"Nobody's better at hiding and moving through this desert than we are." Nobooru proudly announced, stepping into the daylight alongside the large man. "Plus, our shamans put a little spirit magic in all of our hiding screens. Help's to throw predators and hunters off the trail."

Ganondorf nodded, "My aunt taught me how to hide like that. It's how I gave the 'Goose Chase' the slip that first night we met."

Nobooru suddenly snapped her fingers, "Oh that's right!" She smiled sweetly, "There was something I was meaning to do, when I first saved you from the 'Goose Chase'." Then, without missing a beat, she turned and drove a brutal punch into Ganondorf's stomach, and followed up with another punch to his cheek that layed him out flat on his back. "That's for pulling that little disappearing trick on me that night." She explained, flexing her hand that had struck his jaw. "Now we're even."

Ganondorf rubbed his jaw, looking up at the beautiful woman standing over him, impressed by the amount of power she had put behind those two punches. "I suppose I may have deserved that. But you can't say that you didn't come out ahead from our little exchange that night. I gave you a gold rupee for the trouble."

"Eh, you may be right." She said, chuckling lightly and offering him a hand up. "Still, it's not very gentlemanly to play tricks on a beautiful lady like that."

He burst into a hearty laugh at that. "And since when have I ever made claims of being a gentleman? I'm a thief who was raised in the desert alone by his, possibly crazy, aunt."

The two shared another laugh together as they began to make their way up the mountain trail. Their path took them deep into the mountains, over the course of several nights. Each night, the two of them would spar, both as a method to stave off boredom in the otherwise empty traveling, and as a way to speed up Ganondorf's full recovery.

Ganondorf quickly came to appreciate just how fast and lethally strong his traveling companion was. He had always been a strong and, (thanks to the specialized training from Shiek,) extremely fast fighter, but Nobooru was easily able to keep up with his best and match him blow for blow. On the fourth night of their trek, they finally decided to see who was the better between them. By the end of the fourth strait hour of fighting, neither could actually claim victory, and the both collapsed from exhaustion in a laughing heap.

Then, finally on the fifth day, their destination appeared in sight. The trail they were on took them into a valley, ringed on all sides by steep, sheer cliffs. And nestled into the base of the cliffs, running nearly the length of the valley, was a massive stone fortress carved out of the cliff-side itself. From their vantage point at the top of the opposite cliff, their trail leading down a steep, switch-backing path cut into the cliff-side, Ganondorf could see dozens of figures, tiny with distance, paroling along the tiered roofs of the stone fortress below. He could also see a small canyon that led to a smaller valley behind the fortress, and while he couldn't see through the cliff wall to see what the second valley contained, he could see the telltale dust clouds of running horses rising up over the mountains.

"Welcome to the Gerudo Valley, Dragmire." Nobooru said, grinning at his stunned expression.

"This place is incredible!" He said, gazing down at the fortress, and recalling all of his past live's memories of it. It seemed to have grown larger since his last incarnation. "Shiek told me that the Gerudo's fortress home was impressive. But her stories hardly does the real thing justice."

Nobooru laughed, beginning to pick her way carefully down the switchback trail towards the valley floor. "Yeah, there really is no other place as defendable as this valley. Even if an enemy sets up on the cliffs, the fortress itself is strong enough to withstand a meteor strike apparently. And we have secret tunnels all throughout these cliffs."

Ganondorf nodded silently, his memories casting back to one of his previous lives, when he had ordered the fortress to be made stronger. He had discovered, (And then stolen,) a massive amount of Goddess Steel, and ordered his servants to smelt it down and reconstruct the fortress around it. It had made the structure all but indestructible, unfortunately, it did nothing to slow down the Hero of Time on foot. But all of that was now thousands of years in the past. His mind snapping back to the present, Ganondorf smiled, "I look forward to seeing it up close."

They were halfway down the cliff when an arrow buried itself into the cliff face, barely three inches in front of Ganondorf's nose. "Who enters the sacred home of the true rulers of the desert?" The challenge was called out, as several Gerudo women seemed to materialize out of nowhere, appearing on the path both ahead of them, and behind them.

"I am Nobooru. Daughter of Risha. And if you aim that arrow at me again Nialla, I'm going to come down there and shove it down your throat!" Nobooru grinned as she answered, the threat clearly a running joke to her. "I bring with me a man of skill, and more importantly, an enemy of the Mad King of the East."

Ganondorf glanced at the guards that now blocked their path, and then smiled. Gerudo respected skill more than almost anything else in life. Reaching up in a flash of motion, he grabbed the arrow now sticking out of the cliff wall and pulled it out. Then, turning in a single fluid motion, he raised and hurled the arrow like a small javeline. The missile cleaved through the air, hurtling into the stone between the feet of the woman who had fired it, the torn front half of her shirt pinned beneath it. "I figured I should return that to you." He announced confidently, calling down to the now shirtless, and scarlet blushing woman.

Nobooru burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Never-mind Nialla." She said, wiping tears from her eyes, "You look like you've suffered enough for one day." Several of the other Gerudo that surrounded them also began chuckling.

One of the guards approached, "Welcome home sister." She said, pulling Nobooru into a hug, "We were slightly worried when we saw signs of Hylian troops in the area."

"Yeah, that's kinda his fault." Nobooru said, still chuckling. "Missan, I'd like to introduce you to Dragmire, the living breathing flesh and blood target of the 'Wild Goose Chase Brigade'. He's also a thief, a card cheat, a bit of a magician, and a hell of a fighter."

Missan stepped past her and gazed at Ganondorf searchingly, sizing him up. He stood tall and confident, meeting her strong piercing eyes with his own burnished golden bronze gaze, a small smirk on his face. After a few seconds, she nodded smiling, "Welcome Dragmire," She said, extending a hand in greeting, "I am Missan, Captain of the Valley Guard, and older sister to your insane travelling companion over there. I had heard that the 'Goose Chase Brigade's' target was nothing more than a myth, but here you are... Not what I expected I admit."

Ganondorf grinned, shaking Missan's hand in a firm grip. "A pleasure to meet you Missan. And no, I'm not exactly the monster that most people expect when they hear about me." He chuckled at his own inside joke, thinking of the real reason that the Brigade was hunting him. "And thank you for giving your crazy sister the chance to introduce me before gutting me."

Missan blinked for a moment, and then burst out laughing. "Oh you are funny. Nobooru dear," She turned to her sister, "You'd better pounce on this one quick or he'll get stolen away from you." Her tone was teasing, but something in her eyes made Ganondorf very sure that she was planning on doing the stealing herself.

Nobooru also caught the implication and quickly turned a deep red. "Sh-shut up sis." She said, turning around and crossing her arms, "You would be significantly less enamored with him if you had needed to save his life, and _THEN_ nurse him back to health."

"Ooh you nursed him did you?" Missan's arms coiled around her sister's belly, causing Nobooru to squeak in surprise. "Maybe I should see what about him made you want to _nurse_ him."

"Agh! I hate you so MUCH!" Nobooru whirled on her sister and tried to tackle her, however Missan had already flipped herself up and over her head, her hand pushing against the back of her head, and sending her stumbling and spilling into Ganondorf. The others gathered around them all laughed at the sibling squable and began to disperse once more, leaving the three of them alone on the cliff-side trail.

"Nobooru," Ganondorf said, chuckling as he worked to hold the young woman in his arms back, "Maybe we wait until we get down closer to the valley floor to kill your sibling." With that, he casually picked her up and began to carry her as he continued down the trail.

Nobooru thrashed and flailed in his arms, spitting curses and oaths of vengeance as he laughed and continued unslowed. Missan meanwhile fell into step behind them, her eyes glinting evilly. "Oooh, jealous." She laughed, "Nobooru you minx, you brought home a keeper." She laughed, wrapping her arms up around Ganondorf's neck and purred into his ear, "Promise you'll carry me next time?"

He didn't get a chance to answer as his cargo lunged at her, clawing at the empty air where her head had been a heartbeat before. "Missan I swear I'm going to kill you this time!" Nobooru snarled as her sister and Ganondorf laughed.

* * *

The fortress was abuzz with chatter and gossip. Lussana looked up, roused from her thoughts by the sounds of a pair of passing guards talking eagerly. Standing up, she called to them, "What the hell is all this racket about? You guards are gossiping like city teenagers."

The guards both blushed furiously, snapping to salute in front of their senior. "Apologies Mistress Lussana. Nobooru brought a man to the valley. They say he's the one that the 'Goose Chase Brigade' has been hunting all these years."

Lussana crooked an eyebrow, "Really? He's real? And Nobooru brought him? What do we know about him?"

"He's big, pure muscle and strength. He's also fast, and a scary good shot." At Lussana's questioning glance, the guard explained, "When we confronted him and Nobooru on the cliff trail, Nialla fired off a warning shot, just to let him know we meant business, he pulled the arrow out of the rock, and threw it back at her. Hard enough that it tore her shirt off as it passed between her boobs. And not a scratch on her otherwise."

Lussana let out an impressed whistle. "Ok. Yeah, that's a good shot."

One of the guards grinned mischievously, "I hope I get a chance to meet him before Missan get's her claws in him. His name's apparently Dragmire, and he's actually pretty hand...some... Mistress Lussana? Are you...alright?"

The color had drained from Lussana's face, and a shocked expression had claimed her features. "W-what did you say his name was?" She asked as she finally found her voice once more.

"Dragmire." The guards glanced nervously between each other, "What's the matter?"

"He's a young man?" At the guard's nod, Lussana sweapt between them, rushing out of the fortress and frantically looking around, the shocked guards rushing after her. Finally her eyes locked on the large figure just stepping off the cliff trail, the still flailing form of Nobooru in his arms, and Missan dancing teasingly around them, just out of her reach. Lussana rushed forward, the figure of the man coming fully into focus, she stopped dead in her tracks a few paces from him, her eyes locked with his.

Nobooru and Missan both quieted the instant they saw Lussana coming, Nobooru climbed down from Ganondorf's hold. She was one of the Gerudo's most senior and respected members, and her stride and expression instantly put them on edge.

"It... can't be..." Lussana gazed at the large man before her, looking as if she had seen a ghost. "You... y-... Ganondorf?" Her voice was almost a whisper now, "Ganondorf Dragmire?"

Ganondorf's eye's widened in both shock and alarm, and he slowly shifted into a combat stance. "How do you know my full name?"

Nobooru and Missan both glanced between the two, confused, "You're full name?" Nobooru asked. "What's going on here?"

"It really is you..." Lussana said, small tears appearing in her eyes. "You're alive... after all these years... Oh, Mistress Nazhia..." She collapsed to her knees, the strength in her legs seeming to give out, "He survived. He's alive."

Everyone present blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in emotion. Ganondorf was confused, and the Gerudo's were shocked that the demanding and always serious Lussana was crying over the appearance of a man of all things. "Um..." Missan cleared her throat, "Mistress Lussana... what is going on here?"

"A miracle, Missan." Lussana said, drying her eyes and picking herself back up. "This young man is Ganondorf Dragmire. Only Son of Mistress Nazhia Draginil. He was born to the Gerudo Tribe twenty one years ago, the first and only male Gerudo child in more than a century." She fixed him with a strong gaze. "All Hail the return of Ganondorf." She announced in a strong, clear voice that seemed to carry itself to every nook and cranny of the Valley, "All hail the return of our _KING_ "


	7. Chapter 6

Castle City; the beating heart of Hylian life and civilization. Over the thousands of years that the Endless Cycle had repeated itself, the city had been through innumerable changes. It had grown, shrunk, been drowned by an ocean, been sacked and pillaged by invading armies, been fortified, been reduced to only a handful of houses, and so on, and so on. In the past two hundred years, it had grown once more, into a bustling metropolis. However, most of the people who called Castle City home, would hesitate to call it a 'Thriving' one. Corruption, both political and on less grand levels had run rampant through the city for decades, however nobody was able to do anything about it while the military put in place by King Link to "Protect the Peace" remained.

So instead, most people simply bowed their heads and went about their daily lives, preying to the Goddesses that nothing bad would happen to them. It was through this culture that a woman moved, her steps careful and full of fear, her eyes cast down, so as not to attract any attention to herself, her head covered by a shawl. However, if one were to actually look her in the eye, they would see the fire of pride, and the glint of defiance in those twin sapphire orbs. She moved carefully through the city at a measured, swift pace, careful to avoid the patrols of guards, but also making herself seem like a completely natural part of the city crowds.

Her path brought her to a tenement building, old, and seemingly sagging under it's own weight. After a brief glance around, she entered the building, making her way towards the top-most floor. There, she walked down a short hallway, and entered a small apartment.

As the door closed behind her, she turned the lock and let out a small sigh of relief. "I hate this city." She said, pulling the shawl from her head and shaking out her long golden blonde hair, and running a hand through it. "There's so much fear here that I can barely breathe." She moved to the apartment's window, and sat down at the small table there, and gazed out. The window had a perfectly unobstructed view of the royal palace, it was the main reason she had taken the place.

Settling down into her seat, she watched the various comings and goings of the palace. For hours she sat, unmoving, as if waiting for something, or perhaps searching. Finally, as the sun began to set, she sighed. "And as usual, he cowers in his fortress... I'm disappointed in you Link. You used to be so brave... so noble... In ages past, if you knew your enemy was out there, you would hunt for him yourself... not hide behind soldiers and walls of stone." Standing and making her way to a small cupboard, she pulled an apple from it and ate thoughtfully. "This is a waste of time... Link is gone this cycle. He's become a cowardly tyrant. And all he does is sit on his throne and send his legion forth to enforce his will."

She sighed once again, and walked to the small dresser. Closing her eyes, she quietly allowed a small incantation to take effect, when her eyes once again opened, gone was the sapphire blue, replaced instead by a deep brown. She then pulled open the dresser and retrieved the clothing hidden within. "Well then, it's been three years." Shiek said to herself as she pulled her mask on, "I guess I should go make sure my favorite nephew is still alive."

She finished dressing, and then climbed agiley out of the window and up onto the roof. Once there, she took one look back at the palace before turning to the west. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind ripped it's way through Castle City. It was strong enough to nearly knock Shiek off her footing, and did impressive damage to several surrounding buildings as well. As she recovered from the near fall, Shiek winced as a stinging sensation made itself known on her right hand.

"Ganondorf..." She said, gazing towards the western desert,"You've found something."

* * *

The Castle City palace echoed with the clashing and clanging of metal, as the many guards and soldiers made their rounds. And yet, despite the presence of so many people, the palace always seemed to feel so empty to Link. As if something were missing... He had never been able to find what that something was, but it always nagged at the back of his thoughts. The feeling had grown worse in the past seven years, after Ganon had escaped him in the desert.

As Link sat upon his throne, once again desperately trying to figure out what he was missing, a terribly strong, bitingly cold wind ripped itself through the halls and windows of the palace. Several guards were knocked from their feet, and dozens of decorations were shattered across the floor. When the wind reached Link's throne, he felt a chill of fear crawl up his spine, and he heard words that had been spoken to him thousands of years before echo through his mind. _"When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished the land. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind always carried the same thing: Death."_

Despite himself, Link felt himself smile, a strange sense of almost eagerness creeping into him. "So that's it..." He murmured to himself quietly, "That's what has been missing. So now the hunter becomes the hunted. Very well Ganon. Come. Come and face me."

Sitting back on his throne, Link felt his smile continue to grow. Then, a single crystalline thought shot through his mind; _Is this how He felt? When he knew that I was coming for Him?_

The King of Hyrule sat upon his throne, and laughed, a hint of terrified madness echoing through the cavernous halls of the palace.

* * *

Ganondorf sat at the place of honor in the large gathering hall, his mind absorbing the events of the past few hours. Ever since his memories had first begun to return, almost seven years ago, he'd had his suspicions that this incarnation of him was Garudo born. But until his meeting with Lussana, he'd never been sure. And now, here he sat, gazing around the gathering hall.

The hall itself was massive. Constructed deep within the stone Gerudo Fortress many hundreds of years ago, in an age when the Gerudo had been a nation to be feared rather than a small group of bandits. An enormous fire-hearth roared with crackling heat in the wall behind him, while before him, past the slightly raised dius where he sat, the Gerudo tribe all knelt, their heads bowed to their King. Ganondorf himself sat cross-legged on a simple, but comfortable rug, it's design calling forth memories of hundreds of past lives when he had sat in this very spot.

He smiled at the irony. In all of those memories, he had sat here plotting how best to take the powers of the Triforce, or how to gain dominance over the world. In all of those memories, he had been a creature of darkness. A demon wearing the skin of a man. Yet now, he looked upon the emotions that had been within him with disgust.

 _Shiek was right._ He thought with another smirk, _Something in this cycle is very different._

Finally, he pulled his attention back to the matter at hand. He had almost four hundred beautiful women bowing to him, and hailing him as their King. With a small gesture, he spoke, his voice reaching through the depths of the hall with ease. "Please, cease this kneeling foolishness." He said, beckoning the Gerudo to rise. When they all seemed to look confused at his order, he sighed, "At least sit down and relax, please. You all are making me nervous." He chuckled lightly.

The Gerudo women finally seemed to get the idea, and each of them shifted, from the kneeling bow that they had held, to sitting cross-legged on small rugs similar to the one upon which he sat. Letting out a small sigh, Ganondorf spoke again, "Listen, this whole 'King' situation was a little unexpected. I've spent most of my life on my own, or living with the woman who raised me." He said, "I'm not exactly what one could call royalty material."

"That matters little in the long run, my King." Lussana spoke from her place in the front row of Gerudo. "The simple fact is that the Gerudo belong to you. What you command, it shall be done."

"And I'm sure that every single one of you have absolutely _no_ problem obeying a man. The exact things that you all have spent your lives fighting." He shook his head. "No. As I am now, I am no King. Had the events from twenty one years ago unfolded differently, perhaps. But for now, I am not your King." That drew several confused and possibly scandalized glances. "Until I have learned what it means to be a king, and more importantly, until I have earned the respect of each and every one of you, I am nothing more than your equal. I am a thief first, and many other things after that." His gaze fell upon Lussana, "Is that acceptable Mistress Lussana?"

Lusanna sat silently for several moments, thinking. _He's more humble than I expected,_ She thought with a smile, _Whoever that Shialla woman was... Mistress Nazhia chose well._ "Very well, Lord Ganondorf." She finally nodded, "Until such a time as you are prepared to take command, we shall treat you as our equal. The only male Gerudo is due at least that level of honor."

Ganondorf bowed his head in thanks, before casting his gaze back across the gathered Gerudo. "Thank you. I look forward to working with all of you." He smiled warmly, causing many of the gathered women to murmur among themselves.

From her seat off to the side, Nobooru watched her former travelling companion curiously. _Is this why he wanted to meet the Gerudo?_ She wondered silently, _Did he use me to get here just so that Mistress Lusanna would notice him? But then if that's the case... why is he turning down the Kingship now?_

Beside her, her sister hummed in thought, "Hmm... I like him more and more Nobooru. You really did bring home a keeper." She grinned mischievously.

"What are you talking about Missan? He's being an idiot and turning down what may be the most incredible gift of all time."

"Is he though?" The question caused Nobooru to pause, "He said that he want's to wait to claim the Kingship until he's earned the Gerudo's respect. That tells me that he not only knows that he knows nothing about leading, but he also respects our culture enough to know that no matter how much Lusanna want's us to accept him as our King, we only have her word that he is who she says he is. Regardless of what Lusanna says, there would have been dissension among our sisters, and many of them would have refused to follow him, or even tried to remove him as a problem quickly, before he got too 'comfortable' in his position."

"So... by turning down the Kingship for now..." Nobooru thought for a few moments, following her sister's line of reasoning. "He's allowing our sisters to get used to his presence, until they themselves are ready to accept him as King."

Missan smiled widely, "Well, not just a pretty face there after all are you oh sister mine?" Chuckling at the glare she received, she continued, "That's right. This way, he not only will be able to earn the respect of the Gerudo as a whole, he'll also learn what he'll need to become a true King."

Nobooru returned her gaze to the young man now moving away from the King's seat and towards an empty space near her and Missan. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were completely unreadable. Nobooru gasped slightly as she saw his eyes, something about them gave her the impression of eternity staring back at her. They made her feel like she was staring down not a man, but a force of nature. _Ganondorf Dragmire..._ She thought as she smiled lightly and gave him a silent nod, _Just what in the Goddesses names are you?_

* * *

"How in the hell did you bastards let him get away from you?!" Screamed General Faz. "Are you all truly so incompetant that you let a _woman_ steal our prey away from you? And when he was half dead too?"

Captain Heidero quietly rolled his eyes. The General had been like this for almost two solid weeks, and now it was starting to get old. "With all due respect General, Why in the hell should we care about what happens to this man? I met him. Had the chance to speak with him. Sure, he's a card cheat, and he may, or may not know a bit of magic, but how the hell does that make him such a huge threat to His Majesty?"

The General's glare was one of pure hatred. "Watch your tone Heidero. You're on thin ice as it is for letting that bastard get away from you back at the Crossroads. Don't make me add insubordination to that as well."

The other soldiers glanced nervously between the two officers. On the one hand, Heidero was popular with the rank and file, he always joined in their jokes, and generally made sure that his men were as well taken care of as was possible in the 'Goose Chase Brigade'. On the other, it was a well known fact that General Faz was well connected, and rumor even held that he had the favor of King Link as well, although that particular rumor was also coupled with a similar one that said the General's favor with the King had been steadily falling over the past seven years.

Heidero meanwhile matched the General's glare with his own look of pure disgust. "So, it's insubordination to ask what the fuck we're doing wasting our time, resources and manpower scouring the desert trying to find and capture a _SINGLE_ man? Listen to yourself Faz, we've been out here for years! We have spent seven years just trying to find this guy, a lot of us honestly didn't believe that he was even real! Now, guess what? We fucking found him! You want to know what we learned from that? We learned that the king has a hard-on for the death of a fucking card swindler, that's what." He gestured around himself to the others, "We deserve to know the truth. Just who is he that the King would dedicate so much just to get rid of him? Why the hell would His Majesty even _care_ about a scoundrel like him?"

Faz's fist struck down on the staff table behind which he currently stood, splintering the wooden frame with a roar of anger. "That's ENOUGH!" Field reports and paper maps scattered about, knocked in all directions from the force of the blow. "I have endured your blatant disrespect for authority for far to long Heidero. But you have now crossed a line. Demanding an explanation from the _King_? You should know better than to question the legendary Hero of Hyrule." He reached down, drawing his sword, much to the shock of all present. "Your treasonous audacity ends now."

Faz lunged forward, thrusting with his blade in a brutal stabbing motion. Unfortunately for him, Heidero recovered from his shock far quicker than anyone else in the tent, and in a flash of motion, he stepped forward and to the side, catching the General's sword hand in a vice-grip.

"A good rule of thumb Faz." Heidero spoke quietly, but his voice seemed to echo through the tent, "If you're going to kill a soldier like me, you should really spend more time actually training with the weapon you plan on killing with, rather than sit on your ass all day and shout orders." With a savage twist, he quickly broke the General's wrist, catching the sword as it fell from his now loose grip. He then brought the stolen weapon up and around in a glistening arc, cutting clean through the man's throat before plunging it into his heart.

General Faz fell to the ground, stone dead. The stunned silence that followed was almost painful as Heidero stood there, gazing down at the man who had made his life hell for the past five years since he had been transferred to the brigade. Finally, he turned to look at the soldiers. "Alright. I just murdered a superior officer. Since you all look to shocked to think strait, one of you had better get smart real quick and arrest me and send word to Castle City."

At his words, one soldier finally seemed to snap free from his shock, "But Captain, that was clearly a case of self defense."

"Doesn't matter. I'm still currently a murderer." Heidero's gaze was hard, but oddly calm. "Only problem here is that because Faz was an idiot... I'm the only one that command of the brigade falls to if he should die. Which means that officially, this brigade is without a command structure."

The man who had spoken looked around for a few moments, and then nodded. Pointing to a pair of men, he spoke, "You two! Get something to restrain the Captain. You, you and you, get this mess cleaned up and prep the General's body for either burial here, or to be returned to Castle City for burial. Move it soldiers!"

Heidero smiled and slumped down to sit next to Faz, a strange look in his eye. "Well... I really did it this time didn't I Faz?" As the two soldiers selected to detain him approached, he spoke up towards the man who had taken charge. "I would like the opportunity to plead my case before the crown sir."

The soldier nodded. "I will include that in my report. It will take a few days for a reply to reach us you realize." At Heidero's nod, he continued, "Good. Then you will remain under guard until then. I... suppose that introductions are in order. I am acting captain Feris Ingvar."

Heidero nodded once more as one of the soldiers locked a pair of manacles around his wrists. "The men are in your hands until this mess sorts itself out Ingvar. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Ingvar shook his head with a small smile. "Honestly, with the way Faz treated the men, I'm a little surprised he survived as long as he did. Not to worry sir, we'll get this all sorted out." Heidero saluted as best he could in the chains and was then led away, leaving Ingvar to start cleaning up the reports and maps that had covered the General's small table. "I know I say that..." He said quietly, "But honestly sir... what the hell were you thinking?"

* * *

Link sat in the meeting room, reading the report that had arrived from the Desert Hunter Brigade, an odd look on his face. The captain of his personal guard stood just off to his side, and several generals were seated around the large table, each of them had read the report, and each of them was silently terrified at the thought of how their volatile King would react to the news.

"So. Faz is dead, and the Brigade is basically crippled because of it. Is that what I am reading here General Kaida?" At the general's nod, Link sighed. "Dammit. Alright, have this 'Heidero' brought to me. If he truly thinks that he can plead his case to me, I could use the entertainment. In the mean time, General Imeraz, dispatch a group of officers to take command of the Desert Hunter Brigade until this 'acting captain Ingvar' fellow can get his people in order. And have them evaluate Ingvar, see if he is proper command material. And find out if it's actually true that the Brigade let Ganon escape them. That's it, you are dismissed."

The gathered Generals all stood and saluted, before making their ways to go about their duties. Link meanwhile sat back in his chair. Turning his glance to his Guard captain, he smiled thinly. "What do you think Captain Volge?"

Volge sighed, "I think that Faz was a bureaucrat, not a soldier. He tried to kill a rather well decorated officer for asking simple, if... ill advised, questions, and he paid the price for his idiocy. That being said sir, he _was_ a General, and that fact shouldn't be overlooked."

"True." Link nodded, looking back down at the report. "Still, I am curious about this Captain Heidero. According to the testimonies of his fellow soldiers, he's the model captain. And he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Perhaps I can use him..." The king of Hyrule tapped his chin in thought, as the cold wind of death once again blew by in the night outside.

* * *

Nobooru fell back onto her cot, the comfort of it a welcome and wondrous change after the weeks of sleeping in a bedroll on the hard, unforgiving ground. As she lay there, watching the sky darken through the small slit of a window in her room, she once again found her mind on Ganondorf.

He was a strange man, and the more she learned about him, the stranger he became. A fighter, a thief, a magician, and now suddenly he was also a _King_? And there was more as well. She had noticed it slightly during their trek through the mountains to the Fortress, but paid it no mind. However she had seen it again during the gathering in which he had turned down the Kingship. He was hiding something.

She lay there, wondering what he could possibly be hiding, as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky, until it was beyond the edge of the canyon, and the Fortress was shrouded in night. Finally, realizing that she'd be unlikely to get any sleep with her mind moving in overdrive as it was, she rolled back up and decided to go for a little walk to clear her head.

For Nobooru, 'a walk' at this time of the night meant her testing just how good she had become at sneaking around. She entertained herself be trying to get as close as she could to the women who were on guard without them noticing her. As she was creeping up on her fourth guard, about to startle the woman with a good natured poke to the ribs, a small flicker of movement caught the corner of her eye. Just as she turned her gaze towards it, she caught sight of Ganondorf moving out of a pool of torchlight and into a corridor of the Fortress.

"Now where is he off to at this time of night?" She asked herself quietly, eliciting a quiet, shocked squeak from the woman she had been sneaking up on. "Sorry," She said with a chuckle, "But now you know to watch your back better at night."

Nobooru quickly dropped down to the level where she had seen Ganondorf, making her way into the hallway. Taking the only direction he could have gone, she moved swiftly, and silently, trying to catch up to the mysterious man. As she rounded the corner, she threw herself into a roll to come to a stop behind a crate, and peeked out, catching sight of her quarry.

He was standing before a blank wall in a storage room. "So..." He said to himself, "Nobody ever found it huh? Interesting." As he spoke, he reached up and pressed one of the stones. Much to the surprise of the hiding Gerudo onlooker, the wall slid silently open, splitting in the center and both sides sliding back. "I know you're there Nobooru." He smiled as he heard her squeak in surprise, "I had a feeling that you would be the one to follow me around."

"Well can you really blame me with stuff like this?" She asked accusingly, regaining her composure and stepping out from her hiding spot. "I want a real answer. Just who the hell are you? And what the hell is this?" She gestured to the new hole in the wall.

Ganondorf stood there, his strange golden eyes seeming to search her for something. Finally, he sighed, and beckoned her to follow him, before turning and walking through the gap in the wall. As they walked down the revealed corridor, he spoke. "I am Ganondorf Dragmire. And I know more about this fortress than probably any living person. Mostly because I more or less built it."

"That's impossible. You're barely older than twenty. This place was ancient when my _ancestors_ were kids."

"Both statements are in fact true. However, I am going to guess that you are familiar with the tale of the Hero of Time?"

"You mean the stuff that prick King Link says? About how he's the reincarnation of some Hero who can remember all of his old lives?"

"Exactly. Well, he isn't actually the only one who has memories of their past lives. There are three of us. The Hero, the Princess, and the Demon. I'll give you two guesses who I am." He flashed her a humorous smile.

"If you say 'the Princess', I'm going to hurt you."

He suddenly burst into laughter. "No, I'm no reborn Princess. In my previous lives, I was Ganon, the Demon King. The lord of darkness and monsters, the enemy of Hyrule, and more specifically, the enemy of the Hero of Time. In many of those past lives, I was born as the Gerudo King, and each time that happened, I tried to make this fortress stronger, more impregnable. I halfway succeeded... sort of... the fortress could hold off entire fucking armies, but Link still killed me every damn time."

Nobooru paused, a smirk on her face, "You realize how absolutely fucking crazy you sound right now right?"

He turned to her, his face completely serious, "Trust me, if it weren't for close to three or four _thousand_ different lifetimes worth of memories bouncing around in my head at any given time, I would think I was insane." He then turned and continued walking.

Nobooru hurried to catch back up to him. "Ok, so you're some super ancient super-villain, who used to use this place as a hideout. What does that mean for us _now_?"

"That's the thing." He said, "I don't know. Something about this reincarnation is different. Link is a psychopath, and I look at the things that I've done in my past lives with a mix of disgust and depression. It's almost like we've switched rolls this time around. I came here in hopes of finding some kind of clue, or at least a place to finally take a break from being hunted all the time." He paused, looking back at the Gerudo woman with an unreadable expression, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this before now. But tricking you the way I did was the only way that I'd have been able to gain access to the valley safely."

"That does then beg the question; why _are_ you telling me all of this now?"

"Because I don't feel like dredging up a spell to erase your memory." He chuckled lightly at her horrified expression, "I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke. The truth is, telling you this is...helpful to me. I've carried the secret of my identity with me for a long time now, and it honestly feels good to finally be able to tell someone. Also, I'm not entirely sure why, but I feel like I can trust you with my secret. A bit odd considering your occupation."

By this point, the two of them had reached the end of the corridor, and had entered a large, dark room. Ganondorf extended his hands and spoke an incantation for a spell, causing several dozen torches set into the walls of the room to ignite. Nobooru gasped slightly at the sight that awaited her as the light filled the room. "Incredible..." She said quietly.

The room itself was a little smaller than the assembly hall of the fortress. In the center, there stood a large stone throne on a raised dias, several steps leading up to it. At the base of the steps, were two ancient suits of armor, standing on either side of the lowest step, facing inwards towards each other. Behind the throne, carved into the back wall, was a massive statue of Goddess Din. And around the room, were dozens of thick stone pillars, all reaching up to a ceiling shrouded in shadow.

"This was my true throne room," Ganondorf said, noting the woman's awe. "While the assembly hall was used for 'official' purposes, I always preferred that my personal chambers be a bit more heavily defended."

"Your 'personal' chambers?" Nobooru asked with a raised eyebrow. "You mean you slept on that throne or something?"

Ganondorf chuckled and walked along the wall to the left, shaking his head as he went. "No, although I _may_ have had my fair share of 'fun' there." He laughed again as the emphasis of the statement sunk in, causing her to blush slightly. "No, my actual chambers were back here." He continued along the walls until he came to the base of the goddess statue. There, carved into the base of the statue was a doorway, well hidden to a casual observer. Ganondorf pushed it open with a small effort, grumbling about how the hinges had rusted, and then made his way inside.

Nobooru didn't know what to expect when she followed him through the door, but it certainly wasn't what she found. Ganon's personal chambers was a room that seemed to fill the entire statue of the goddess, as well as it extended further back. The entire chamber was a massive, tiered construction, the ground level of which was occupied by a large stone table and several chairs. The next level up was a terraced platform that ran the circumference of the room, and seemed to have a small door in the back wall. The platform itself was occupied by various small tables and chairs as well. Above the second level, were another four, each one smaller in width as they got closer to the head of the statue that held the chamber. Along the walls of every level, were bookshelves, all filled to the brim with books so ancient, that it made Nobooru's head hurt just thinking about it.

"You uh... you really liked your books, didn't you?" She asked, chuckling nervously as she glanced over a few of the titles on the shelf closest to her. She wasn't surprised when she discovered that she could not read the language they were written in.

"I started this collection after being killed by Link one too many times. I decided that I would begin to stockpile as much knowledge as I could, in hopes that it would someday help me beat him. It never really helped in the end. He and Princess Zelda were still always able to thwart all of my plans, but, that didn't stop me from trying." Ganondorf looked around fondly, smiling, "I'm glad he never found this place. That's one of the reasons why I hid the doorway so well. If Link knew about this library... I highly suspect that he would have burned the fortress to the ground to ensure it's destruction. Especially in this cycle."

Nobooru took one of the books from the shelf and leafed through it gently. The old paper was in surprisingly good shape, considering how old it was. "So you think you may be able to find a clue as to what happened to you and Link somewhere in here?" She gestured around them once more.

"Perhaps." Ganondorf walked to another self, taking a book from it and sitting down in one of the chairs. "It's a slim chance at best. But, even if I don't find what I'm looking for, at least I have my collection back. I've honestly missed it." He smiled warmly as he settled into the seat and opened the book in his hands.

"You are a very strange man, Ganondorf Dragmire." Nobooru set her book back on the shelf and made her way over to the man. Grinning mischievously, she dropped down onto his lap with a contented sigh, drawing a look of surprise from him. "Well, you may as well teach me how to read this stuff, since I plan on helping you." She said, shifting to get comfortable, and turning so she could see the text.

Chuckling again, Ganondorf nodded, shifted himself so that he was more comfortable, and began to read.

* * *

 **OK! Finally got the next chapter up! Sorry about the long time between updates. I'll try to start getting these up faster in the future, but for now, please read and enjoy.**


	8. Chapter 8

Nobooru's eyes opened slowly, her mind groggily registering the fact that she was blissfully comfortable as it slogged it's way back to awareness. Finally opening her eyes fully she looked around. She was layed on a massive bed, the chamber around her was lit by flickering torches, and she could see bookshelves, tables, and many other displays along the room's wall.

 _Oh, right... Dragmire._ She groaned as she moved to get up, her body not wanting to leave the blissful comfort of the enormous bed that currently held her. Finally though, she was up and moving. She found the door, which lead out onto the second tier of Ganondorf's hidden library.

The man himself was seated on the ground floor, another book in his hands and a platter of food on the table before him. "Good morning Nobooru." He said without looking up from his book, "How are you feeling?"

She groaned, leaning against the railing and watching him for a few moments. "Like there's a Goron rolling around in my fucking head."

He chuckled, leaning forward and plucking some fruit from the patter, "Well you were up late, learning several languages worth of reading material." He tossed the fruit into his mouth, "I'd have been a little unnerved if you had said that you were 'fine'."

"So, when did I end up in the bed?"

"Hmm?" He finally looked up from his book, "Oh, uhh... about five hours ago. Give or take. I haven't exactly been paying much attention."

She laughed, wincing a bit as her headache instantly made her regret it, "Why am I not surprised..." She vaulted the railing, landing nimbly beside him and claiming several pieces of fruit. "You know, if we've really been gone that long, Mistress Lussana is going to wonder where we are. As will the others."

Ganondorf sighed, setting his book aside. "I suppose..." He grumbled, standing and picking up the food platter. "I didn't exactly _ask_ if I could take this food when I went and took it from the store rooms... So they'll probably be noticing that it's missing soon enough." He made his way towards the ancient throne room that hid the entrance of his personal chambers. "Well come on, let's go make sure they haven't sent out any search parties."

* * *

The fortress was silent as Ganondorf and Nobooru emerged from the hidden passageway to his throne room. "Huh. Guess they're in the assembly hall." Nobooru said, looking around.

"Then let's go." Ganondorf grinned mischievously, "Let's see if they even notice us come in."

The two snuck silently through the fortress, making their way into the crowded assembly hall. The other Gerudo were all seated, listening to Lussana speak, and no one seemed to notice the pair enter and take their seats beside Missan. Nobooru was just beginning to suspect that her friend had done something to mask their appearance when her sister let out a surprised squeak.

"What the... Where the hell did you two come from?" Missan managed to keep her voice at a whisper, "I've been looking for you all day Nobooru!"

"What are you talking about Missan?" Ganondorf asked with a small, easy smile. "We were up at the archery range all morning. Nobooru was giving me some tips, although I don't think I can use the standard Gerudo bows. I kinda broke a couple..." He scratched his head sheepishly.

Nobooru glanced at Ganondorf, momentarily impressed by how smoothly he had lied to her older sister. "It's true." She sighed quietly, "We're going to need to have a custom bow made specifically for this giant." She lightly rapped her knuckles against his shoulder, "On the bright side, I can't wait to see just how much damage he'll do with the right bow."

Missan's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she eventually nodded and said nothing more. The three then turned their attention towards the raised dias on which Lussana stood. The elder was going over various assignments for several groups. "Lisali, I am sending you and your sisters out to the Crossroads. Now that Nobooru has finally come home, we have no one stationed there at the moment. Ga'nee, You and Shiva are to make your way to Lon-Lon town. I want eyes on the Hyleans without risking another Castle City incident." The indicated women all nodded, rose and left swiftly. Lussana then turned her gaze on Ganondorf. "Ganondorf, I will not be assigning you anywhere yet. Not until I am certain that you are trained to Gerudo standards. Until then, you will remain in the valley, is that understood?" Ganondorf smiled and nodded. "Good. Nobooru and Missan will oversee your assessments."

The rest of the meeting dragged by as one by one, groups and teams of women were given assignments and sent off to the far corners of the Hyrule kingdom. Finally though, Lussana dismissed those who remained with a small nod and a gesture. Ganondorf was immediately on his feet, making his way outside. "Godessess... I didn't realise that would _take_ so long." He groaned as he stretched.

"Hmph." Missan snorted, appearing behind him, "Well aren't you just a little bundle of energy?" She grinned wickedly, looking him up and down. "Anyways. Mistress Lussana has made my sister and I responsible for getting you up to snuff. So let's start with the basics."

Missan led Ganondorf and Nobooru across the compound to a large building. The markings above it's entrance identified it as the training hall, Ganondorf smiled fondly as he remembered the ancient traps and puzzles that had occupied it in ages passed. "This should be fun." He chuckled to himself.

Nobooru grinned, knowing the reason behind the man's words. Missan however raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Confident are you? That's good, but don't let it get too overblown." They entered the structure, taking a few moments to allow their eyes to adjust to the gloom within.

Even given his memories, many of which had been crafted by his own hands, Ganondorf couldn't help but let out a low whistle at the sight that greeted him. The ancient training hall had evolved somewhat drastically since his last incarnation. The large, trap loaded, cage maze was still present, but it was now suspended ingeniously above an enormous, sand floored coliseum. The massive arena was almost a hundred feet deep, and close to that in width, and was currently populated by several pairs of Gerudo who were engaged in vicious looking sparring matches.

"Yeah." Nobooru chuckled, seeing his expression. "That's a common reaction."

Ganondorf nodded, watching a Gerudo below deliver a brutal kick to her opponent's stomach. "Either I haven't been reincarnated in an extremely long time," He said quietly enough for only Nobooru to hear, "Or someone got really creative in the past few centuries."

Missan grinned over to the young man, "Alright Dragmire. Time to see just how good you are." She turned and indicated the maze, "You're going to need to navigate the cage maze to make it down to the arena, the only entrance is at the center. If you would like, Nobooru or I could go first, show you how it's... Hey!"

As she had been speaking, Ganondorf had stepped forward, passing through the first gate. As he crossed the threshold, an enchantment in the gate locked it behind him. Immediately, a pair of massive spinning scythe-like contraptions, each with four blades dropped from the ceiling and swung towards him, one at his neck level, and the other coming in the opposite direction at his knee height. The blades were long enough that the only two spots in the room that were safe were right in front of either gate, and they moved fast enough that even at his fastest, Ganondorf would not have been able to move behind one blade, and stayed ahead of the next.

"What the hell!?" Missan hissed through the cage, "These traps are designed to be lethal, you idiot! If you aren't prepared..."

Her words were interupted by the touch of her sister's hand on her shoulder. "Trust me Missan. I think he's more prepared for this maze than most." Nobooru grinned, nodding to Ganondorf. "If you want, we can place bets."

"Put me down for thirty rupees." The young man chuckled through the metal bars of the cage. "I'm good for it."

With that, he winked at Missan, placed a foot against the gate and lunged with all his strength. His momentum threw him through the small gap between the spinning blades, tucking into a roll and bringing him up directly in front of the exit gate.

As he calmly stepped through the gate into the next chamber, Missan couldn't help but stare in impressed shock. "Who the hell is this man...?"

"He's the future king of the Gerudo," Nobooru laughed, pushing her own way into the maze. "Also he's a professional thief. And possibly a bit of an idiot." The younger sister continued laughing as she slithered down, crawling along the floor as if she were a lizard, popping up in front of the exit gate. However, even Nobooru, knowing Ganondorf's secret, and the advantage that he held, was shocked when she looked through the bars into the next chamber.

Dragmire had utterly vanished. There was no trace of him in the chamber, or the one after that. It wasn't until she looked three rooms further, that she saw him, practically dancing around an enormous gout of flame. _Goddesses..._ She thought, _He's better than even I thought..._

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ganondorf found himself laughing heartily on the sands of the arena watching Missan stagger down the stairs. "Come now Missan, surely you're not that tired?"

Missan and Nobooru both glared daggers at him. "Just what the fuck are you made of?" The elder sister asked, "Gorons?"

"Not at all!" He laughed, "It's just that my aunt taught me using pretty similar methods, so I was ready for a lot of those traps."

"Fine." Missan pouted, "Then get ready. Time to see just how well that talent translates to combat." As she spoke, she had moved slightly closer to him. Then, without letting her body betray any hint, she brought her leg scything up in a vicious kick to the side of his head.

Nobooru was shocked by the suddenness of her sister's attack, and was about to let loose an angry shout at Missan, when she noticed the small smile on Ganondorf's features. He shifted back just enough for the strike to whistle harmlessly past his face, before snapping his hand up and closing around her ankle in a locked grip, and spun, hurling the woman across the arena.

As Missan came to a rolling halt, the other groups of Gerudo all stopped their respective matches and turned to watch, whispering amongst themselves. "You're even faster than I thought." She said, pushing herself back up to stand, and glaring across the arena, "And strong too. That's good. But I've been ordered to make sure you're up to true Gerudo standards, so just that won't be enough to make the cut."

Ganondrof's smile widened as he stepped forward towards the center of the arena floor. "Of course." He chuckled, opening his arms in an almost welcoming gesture. "I look forward to working with you."

Nobooru watched from the side intently. This is bad... She thought as she noticed the gleam in her sister's eyes, _Missan is genuinely serious... Even I can't beat her when she's this fired up..._ Turning her gaze back to Ganondorf, she froze.

There seemed to be a massive shadow gathered around him and slowly reaching across the sands. The other Gerudo watching all apparently saw it as well, as they began inching backwards, unsure of what it was that they were witnessing.

Missan paused, blinking at the sight before her. _That smile..._ She thought, _He's not just confident... There's something dangerous behind that mask._

"What's the matter?" Ganondorf's voice rang out clearly through the suddenly quiet arena, causing Missan to flinch slightly, raising her guard. "Not coming?" He grinned, shifting his feet ever so slightly, "Then I suppose I'll start."

Missan felt herself tense up, preparing for the man's attack, she knew that she had the advantage of experience in this fight; Ganondorf was no older than twenty, and she at twenty five had been fighting since she was a young child. _I can take this. Even if he's the King, I can... what the?!_

With a simple exhalation of breath, Ganondorf's gaze hardened, and he was suddenly right in front of her, his fist colliding into her side with the force of a boulder. The elder Gerudo was hurled away, coming to a rolling, crashing halt at the far wall. Missan felt herself cough painfully as she struggled to stand, _What the fuck?!_ She looked across the arena towards her opponent, _I couldn't even follow that! How the fuck can anyone move that fast_ She winced, clutching at her side in pain, _Nevermind his speed... That punch felt like it came from a Biggoron... Fuck that hurt._

Ganondorf stood calmly, watching the young woman rise to her feet. _That's a relief._ He thought letting out a breath as she locked eyes with him, _I was worried that I hadn't been able to pull back on that punch in time..._ Nobooru and the others wouldn't forgive me if I actually killed their Sister in a training match. Glancing back towards Nobooru, he paused, catching sight of the fearful look on her face. An expression that was mirrored on the features of every other Gerudo present. _Shit..._ He thought, _You fucking idiot Dragmire. What the fuck are you doing?! Going full power against a normal person... There's only one person you do that against._

 _What the fuck was that...?_ Nobooru felt her entire body freeze in fear as Ganondorf had hit her sister hard enough to kill a normal person. _I've never seen that kind of strength come out of him... was he holding back that whole time we were traveling together?_ As she stood there, worrying about her sister and wondering just what she had done by bringing Ganondorf to this valley, she, and every Gerudo present, Missan included, blinked in shocked surprise when the young man actually punched himself in the jaw.

"I'm sorry about that Missan." He said, bowing his head towards the Gerudo guard captain. "I was worried I wouldn't be a good enough opponent for you, so I kind of used a spell my aunt taught me to increase my strength. I didn't realize that it would be quite so powerful."

Missan panted, wincing in pain slightly as she stood up to her full height. "You're a magician too?" He nodded silently. "I see... That certainly explains it. No normal person can hit that hard. No one." She walked forward, her expression still suspicious, closing the distance between them slightly slower than normal. "But this is a test of your actual _skill_. Not how good you are at making yourself stronger with magic. No more spells on these sands. Got it?"

"Of course." He nodded again. "Here." He held up his arm, exposing his chest and side. "Give me a would in the same spot as you. That way it'll be a fair match again."

Missan blinked in surprise, but managed to recover swiftly enough. "You're sure?" At his nod, she sighed, took a deep breath, and snapped her leg up and into the spot where she had been hit, delivering three kicks in such a swift succession that to all eyes but Ganondorf's they seemed like a single strike.

Ganondorf let out a hacking cough as the strikes connected, but otherwise made no reaction, his eyes locked with her's. When she lowered her foot back to the sand, he smiled slightly, "Now we're even again." He hid it well, but the strain in his voice from the pain that Missan had just caused him was there, effectively setting the others watching at ease somewhat. "Shall we continue?" He eased himself back down into a steady fighters stance.

Doing the same, Missan nodded and lashed out with another brutal kick.

* * *

The fortress was abuzz with talk as the sun set over the valley. Word had spread quickly when Ganondorf and Missan had begun their fight, and now, after almost six continuous hours of combat, there was still no decided victor between them. The rumors of Ganondorf's magical opening strike also spread like wildfire. Some insisted that he had cheated intentionally, while others, usually siting his refusal to fight without the same wound as Missan, swore that it had been the honest accident that he had called it.

Nobooru lay on her bed, waiting for the sun to fully set, lost in thought. Thinking back to the moment of Ganondorf's first attack, she could have sworn that it wasn't him that had made the attack. As if something... else... had momentarily taken his place, something _terrifying_.

As the sky outside darkened, she let out a frustrated growl and leaped out of bed. Within ten minutes she found herself walking angrily down the hidden hallway towards Ganondorf's throne room. "Ganondorf!" She shouted as she entered the massive chamber, "You owe me an explanation!"

He sat slumped on the throne, his shirt and armor thrown to the side and a mass of bandages pulled across his chest. As she shouted, he winced painfully, holding a hand to his head. "About what Nobooru?" He grumbled with a shaky voice.

"What in the HELLS was that today?" Her eyes flared dangerously, "You didn't just cast some magic to make yourself stronger did you? You used something to turn yourself into some kind of demon!"

He froze, his eyes widening as he seemed to look at her for the first time. "What...did you say?" His voice shook with something so unexpected that it actually caused her to pause; fear. He was afraid. "What kind of demon?"

"I..." She paused, trying to remember what she had seen. His unexpected reaction had caught her off guard, but eventually she was able to form the image in her mind again. "It was about twice your height, It's fists looked like boulders carved into hands, and it had this long mane of fire where it's hair should be." As she spoke, she watched him curiously. The more detail about what she had seen was revealed, the paler his face grew.

"I see..." He slumped forward, clasping his head in his hands. "How could I have forgotten about that... _thing_?" Nobooru didn't move, her gaze locked onto him with an expectant look in her eyes. "I told you last night that I am the reincarnation of Ganon," He said, a strange effort in his voice as he spoke. "But there is more to the story than that." He rose to his feet, making his way unsteadily towards his library, "Come with me... It'll be easier to just show you."

They entered the library, and walked up the stairs in the far wall to the higher tiers. "There is a reason why Ganon was the 'King of Demons'." He explained as they climbed, making their way up, towards the highest tier Nobooru realized. "That is because he himself is an avatar."

"A what?" They reached the highest level, and Ganondorf made his way to a shelf, pulling down a truly ancient tome. It was old enough that Nobooru could actually feel the ages that it had survived as she looked at it.

He opened the book, slowly leafing through the pages, "An avatar. An embodiment of something, created for a single purpose." He finally stopped, shivering as he looked at something within the book, "Here." He offered it to her, "This is what you saw, yes?"

Nobooru took the tome in her hands, her eyes widening as she looked once more upon the being she had seen that morning. The picture within the tome seemed to have been hand drawn, and depicted the demon standing over a young man armed with a sword and shield, it's fists raised as though to deliver a powerful blow. She nodded quietly.

"That is Demise. The original Demon King." Ganondorf made his way over to a chair that sat in one corner of the tier, slumping down into it, and wincing in pain. "Demise was the original. It is because of his hatred that I exist." He sighed, gently massaging his temples. "At the beginning of this endless cycle of hatred and death that Link, Zelda and I are caught in, Zelda, who is herself the mortal reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia, was targeted by Demise. He wanted to use her power to control the world. However Link stopped him. In his final moments, Demise laid a curse upon the two whom he hated more than anything else. He swore that an avatar of his hatred would haunt their descendants for the rest of time. That hatred took the form of Ganon, the Demon King."

Nobooru's hand's were trembling as she closed the book, setting it back on the shelf. "So... What I saw today..."

"I don't know..." He admitted. "I've never had anyone tell me that they've seen me turn into Demise before. It would have been bad enough if you had seen Ganon, but Demise?! I... I don't know what is happening."

The young man sat, hands covering his face. His body shivered in what Nobooru could easily tell was fear. Something about the sight hammered home that for all of his memories, for all the past lives he may have lived, he was, at his core just a twenty one year old boy. With a sigh, she stepped over too him, kneeling before him and cupping his face in her hands. "Then we'll just have to find out together won't we?"

His golden eyes were soft and grateful. "Ok." He said, taking her hand in his and holding it tightly, as though he was afraid she would change her mind, "Partners."

"Partners." She confirmed with a smile of her own.

* * *

 **The comeback continues with a new chapter of A Twist in the Cycle!**

 **For those of you who keep up with my other fics, you'll likely have already seen my apology that I wrote out in my Rise of the Hollow King chapter. For those of you who don't, I shall reiterate. I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I hope to get more writing done over the course of this year, (school's almost done, so that'll probably help a bit.)**

 **Anyways, thank you all for your continued support, it is what makes this gig worthwhile.**


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